


Body Numbers

by nana135980



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-24
Updated: 2016-05-04
Packaged: 2018-05-28 20:00:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 31,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6343225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nana135980/pseuds/nana135980
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When head investigator Kim Sunggyu finds himself dealing with a nightmare in Tripoli, he requests assistance from Sergeant Lee Howon, one of the top investigators in the nation.  Howon readily rushes to Tripoli to assist, never quite fathoming what type of nightmare he was stepping into, or what exactly it will lead him to...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Call for Help

“Call the chief over, we found another one here next to the river,” the tired officer told his partner.  His camera started snapping photos as the other jogged about a quarter mile to the first site, where head investigator Kim Sunggyu was examining the surrounding area for evidence.  In a few minutes, the chief had headed over to the second site, being careful about his footing.  The stench was overwhelming, but being an investigator for over seven years now, Kim Sunggyu was already used to the nauseating odor, yet alone the image.  Since the second body was closer to the water, it was in worse condition than the first one they had found under a large birch tree. 

Sunggyu gently bent his knees and crouched next to the unknown victim, holding a flashlight and lingering over certain spots of the corpse.  Female.  Approximately thirty three years of age.  Her clothes were missing, but all her jewelry was still on—earrings, a necklace, two bracelets, and an expensive looking wedding ring. He looked at her face, which must have once been lively and vibrant, now colorless and still.

“Turn her over so we can see if the marks are on her back too…do it carefully.” The senior’s voice commanded the tired officer.  He obliged, gently tilting the body over to check if the marks were on this victim too.

“…number 33 sir.”

“…”

“What should we do sir?  Could it be that he’s escalated so quickly, in just a matter of days? Are there more bodies we don’t know of…” the tired officer seemed to be talking more to himself than to his senior.

“Finish examining the scene here and report back to me if you find anything.  Anything at all.  Turn this damn place upside down, do you understand?”

“Yes sir.”

“...fuck” Sunggyu cursed under his breath as he made his way back to his car. 

He flipped through his notes again, but then just flung the notepad to the passenger seat. 

Three bodies they had found so far within their district.  Two victims have survived the attack, but no evidence was found.  No witnesses, no leads, not even a description other than a “man wearing all black.”  _And he smelt like nasty expensive cologne,_ Sunggyu remembered one of the victims had personally told him.  She seemed disgusted by just remembering the scent, and Sunggyu only felt a greater urgency to find this bastard.  The victims were randomly chosen, the only common factor between them was that the victims had all been sexually assaulted.  Sunggyu knew he was dealing with a serial rapist, and unfortunately it wasn’t the first time he has dealt with such a criminal.  Usually he would know exactly what to do, always keeping his calm and always tackling the case head on.  However, in this case, what made Sunggyu cringe in fear was those horrid _numbers._ On each victim they would find a number scarred into their backs.

15, 8, 25, 27, 33.

_What the hell is this…could it really be thirty three victims already…_

His officers seemed to believe that their target was carving numbers based on body count.  Sunggyu cannot find a better explanation for the odd markings, but he had an ominous feeling that this case has a lot more to it than he thinks. 

The situation was dire, and Sunggyu knew he would need to request immediate attention and aid in solving this case before things got worse.  So he turned on his car, his swollen eyes blurring his vision, and started his drive back to headquarters.  He was going to make a couple of phone calls to get some people to help him in Tripoli; they had to solve this thing quickly before those horrid numbers drive _him_ insane. 


	2. Connections Go Far

Sergeant Lee Howon read the case file in front of him, frowning by the time he finished.  He looked up to the man who had handed it to him, his thick lips moving quickly as he spoke on his phone.  He mouthed a “one sec” before the said man ended his phone call and turned to Howon.

“So, can you head to Tripoli to take care of this? Please?” Woohyun asked him.

“Nam Woohyun is saying please to me?”

“A good friend of mine asked for this.  I’m stuck with my case here, but once I’m done I’ll head after you to Tripoli to take over if you want.”

“No, it’s okay.  I’ll go take care of it.”

“Great, well I reserved two tickets for you guys so pack a bag and be at the airport in what…two hours?”

“Why two tickets?”

“So you can take the new rookie with you.  Let him have a taste of what our job is like,” he said as he gave him a toothy smile and sauntered back to his office.

Howon actually didn’t mind taking the new rookie with him.  He’s worked with him on a couple of cases before, and would consider them friends to some degree.  The guy was a bit awkward on the social side, but he practiced his job diligently.  They probably would get along quite well together.  Howon got up and walked down the hall, reading the name signs until he reached the one with “Kim Myungsoo” on it.  He looked inside and saw the man shuffling papers around his desk before lifting his head up to look at Howon.

“Morning” Howon said.

“Hello” Myungsoo gave a curt nod.

“We’re going to Tripoli.  Go pack a bag and meet me at the airport on Cooper in an hour.”

“Aren’t we getting briefed before we go?”

“I’ll brief you on the plane.  Nam Sarge already reserved the tickets before I had a say.”

Myungsoo let out a low chuckle at the nickname before nodding his head agreeably.  Their senior was always two steps ahead of them.

“I’ll call you when I get there.”

“’Kay.  See you soon.”

An hour and half later the two men were seated in the plane, reviewing the case details in a hushed tone.

“From what I read, the Tripoli police department thinks those numbers represent body count…”

“But the chief, was it Kim Sunggyu-” Howon murmurs as he scans over the name again-“he told Nam Sarge that he doesn’t think it’s body count.”

“Well… looking at the last victim, it was a thirty three year old female, right? What if it’s the age?”

“…”

“I’m not sure why he’d mark the age, or what purpose he has for it, but since the chief seems to suspect it’s not body count..”

“You might be right.  But we only have details on the last victim; we’ll have to check the files of the first four to see if it matches.  We have to look over them anyways, they might’ve missed some important detail that could be a lead.”

A flight attendant starts handing out drinks to the passengers.

“But why?” Myungsoo asks as he looks over to see what drinks the service offers.

“Why what?” Howon replies while gathering the papers and placing them neatly into the folder.

“Why would someone carve numbers on their victims backs…while they’re alive too..do you think he just wants to mark his victims in some way..?”

“Well, that’s what we’re gonna figure out.  Orange juice please.”

.

.

.


	3. Another 25

Sunggyu gathers the files together as he hears a knock on his office door. 

“Come in,” he says.

“Chief, the two officers you requested from Sydon are here.  They’re on their way from the hotel,” officer Choi informs him.

“Good.  Make me some copies of this-” he hands him a packet of typed notes, with some photos stacked at the end “and call the medical examiner.  I’ll take them there myself to have a look at the bodies.”

“Yes sir,” the officer says as he takes the papers and heads out.

Sunggyu makes a mental note to thank Woohyun later as he gathers the rest of the files to share with the two additional investigators.  He just hoped that there won’t be another victim tonight to add on top of the stack already.

.

.

.

“It’s not like Sydon…” Myungsoo mentions as Howon drives to the Tripoli police department headquarters, following the GPS hooked on the windshield. 

“I was wondering why they gave us a truck, but seeing that every single being here seems to have one I think we’ll blend right in.”

“Are we going to be here for long?” Myungsoo asks.

“It’s your first case out of state right?” Howon asks and Myungsoo nods his head.  “It depends really…sometimes I’ve stayed months working on a case.  Other times just like a week or two.  But the department takes care of everything for us don’t worry.  If you need anything, just ask them.  They’ll give us gear too.”

“Did you bring anything with you?”

“Yeah, just because I’m more comfortable with my stuff…I brought a glock 20.  But I left it at the hotel.  I hope I won’t need it.”  Howon says as he pulls in and parks, cutting off the engine.

“Let’s go meet the chief.”

An officer meets them at the front and escorts them to what looked like a conference room, asking them about their trip as he hands them copies of notes and photos.  They seat themselves around the table as an older looking man walks in, a stack of files in his hands.  They exchange greetings as Howon introduces his side.

“I’m sergeant Lee Howon and this is my partner sergeant Kim Myungsoo.”

  
“Good to see you.  I’m the chief here, name’s Kim Sunggyu.  I am the lead investigator on this case.  I sent Woohyun the file of the last victim, did you review that?”

“Yes, and we would like to look at the others too.”  
“Here-” Sunggyu says as he pats the stack of files in front of him “and these copies here are my notes.  To brief you quickly, here’s what I have.. So far we have found five victims, three dead and two alive.  None of them are related, and we cannot find any solid connection between them.  The ages vary, the physical appearances vary, the places they live and work in also varies…it seems like they’re just randomly chosen.”

“And you think the perpetrator is the same person because of the markings on the back? The numbers?”

“Yes.  Each victim has a number carved on their back…either with a knife or something similar.  And they’ve all been sexually assaulted.  The two surviving victims confirmed the build of the guy.  Tall, about 6’3’’, maybe 200 pounds, wears all black.”

“They didn’t see his face?”

“No.  He didn’t even say anything.  The guy knows how to keep his tracks clean…which is why I need help with this.  I have no solid leads.”

“Myungsoo was thinking that the numbers might be the victim’s ages.  Does that fit with the rest of these victims?”

“No.  This victim here—Park Sumi, she’s 29, but the number is 8.  I don’t think the others match either.”

“… I see.”

“When you interviewed the surviving victims, was there anything at all we can work with…?”  Howon trails off with his question, seeming to quickly grasp on at how difficult this case was with little to work on.

Sunggyu thinks for a moment.  “Nothing useful.  One was drugged, she only remembers waking up and the guy was already on top of her, while she was tied down…the other was hit on the back of the head and passed out.  When she came to, she was in the same scenario.”

“They were constrained?”

“Yes, by rope.”

“…”

“Can we see the bodies?” Myungsoo suddenly asks.

“Sure.  Here, review these, and let’s give you your gear first.  Then I’ll lead you guys there.” 

.

.

.

About two hours later, the three men arrive at the morgue. 

“Lee Sungjong!” Sunggyu lets out as soon as they step out of the elevator.  He strides down to the first door on his right, knocking on the already open door.  “Did Choi call you?”

“Yes, he told me.  I’ll go show them, but like I said already, there is no evidence on the bodies other than what I’ve already told you.”   A calm voice answers back swiftly.

“Alright.  Guys here is our medical examiner.  Sungjong, these are sergeants Lee Howon and Kim Myungsoo.  They’re working the case with me.  I’m gonna go get some coffee, you take care of them,”  Sunggyu says as he heads the opposite direction back to the elevator.  Howon and Myungsoo greet the medical examiner as they follow his lead to look at the bodies while he tells them the details of the analysis. 

“The carvings are hand made by some type of knife, but they didn’t find one at any of the scenes to compare with,” he explains as he shows the back.  It was 15.  The one was a repeated single carving while the five looked as if he had difficulty in making the curvature.  “If you look here, there are these small cuts—and here there’s bruising.  This indicates the victim was moving while he probably held her down to carve in the number.”  The man says with a solid voice, devoid of any emotion other than the hard facts.  Howon takes a close look at the pale, clean skin of the medical examiner, frighteningly resembling the dead body in front of them.  He wonders for a second how on earth did this guy end up being a medical examiner, since he looked extremely young from the typical medical examiners Howon has met before.  He quickly refocused as Myungsoo shifted next to him.  “Okay then.  I think we’ll head back and meet with Sunggyu to discuss our next move.”  Howon speaks out and Sungjong places the body back to its place.

Sunggyu shuddered as he stirred the coffee concoction he was making.  The bodies had been cleaned now, but the images of how they were originally--bloody, dirty, tangled, almost as if silenced while they screamed for help just seemed to stick in the back of his eyes.  He hasn’t really slept well at all, but having the two additional investigators helped him calm down a little bit.  He looks up and notices them walking towards him.  He meets them halfway, Howon giving him a shrug.

“Should we go back to the department to decide what to do next..?” Sunggyu asks.

“Alright,” Myungsoo says in a deflated tone, to which the other agrees.

During the drive back, Sunggyu’s phone goes off.  He checks the screen quickly and sees the call is from Choi.

“Hello” he answers the call.

“Chief.  You won’t believe this..”

“What?  Did something come up?”

“Yes.  Another body.”  Sunggyu feels a sickening wave coarse through his body.

“Where’s the scene?  Do you guys have it blocked off?”

“Yes sir.  We’re processing the scene now.  It’s in Nelan Park.”  Sunggyu makes a turn and heads towards the park, Howon still following suit behind him.

“Sir, it’s the same number.”

“What?” Sunggyu lets out before he even processes what the other has said.

“It’s 25 again.  I know there was a body before with 25 on it because I took the photos myself.  Remember that one we found in the alley?  It’s the same number sir”

Sunggyu opened his mouth, and then closed it, wanting to say something, anything to erase the dread pouring from the officer’s voice, but nothing came out.  No one could see the silent, unheard scream as the chief struggled to keep himself together, his grip tightening on the steering wheel.

“Sir?”

“…”

“Hello?”

“I’ll be there soon.”  Sunggyu croaks out and quickly and hangs up.

_I knew it.  That freaking bastard is playing games with us..._


	4. Lead One Hundred

The three men huddled around the trunk of Sunggyu’s car and watched as the officers worked the scene, taking the nameless addition to be examined at the morgue.  Howon remembers the young medical examiner.  Then he remembers the scene they had arrived to.  _What a sight to see in the morning_ , Howon thinks to himself as he takes another chug of the coffee brought by one of Sunggyu’s officers.

Myungsoo pats his pen on the notepad in front of him.  “If it’s the same number, I can think of two reasons.  Either these numbers aren’t body count, or we have a copycat..” he suggests to the other two.

“I don’t think it’s a copycat.” Sunggyu says in a light voice as he flips through his notes again.

“Why not?” Howon pitches in.

“The first one-the other victim with 25-we found her in this same spot” Sunggyu says as he looks up at the large birch tree.  They go silent for a while, the gears in their minds churning and spinning.

Howon suddenly shifts on his left foot, looking at the other two as he speaks, “This could actually be helpful.”

“..what do you mean?” Sunggyu asks.

“We can get a couple of things from this.  He either knew we found the first body, or he knows now for sure since he came back to the site.  Putting the body in the same place, I think he either wants to make a point or he has no better place to put the bodies—so he must either live close to here, or he comes here often, or something of that sort.  I remember the other victims were in different places, but the last two were here, correct?”

“Yes, one here and the other near the river about a quarter mile south.”

“I’ll go back to the department with Myungsoo and we’ll look at a map of the area.  We’ll canvass the areas close to here, drive around the nearest neighborhoods, maybe someone saw something, a car, a person, anything out of the ordinary or suspicious..”

“Okay.  I’ll try to figure out who she is and then I’ll join you two.  From my knowledge, there are about two? I’d say two neighborhoods that are close-” Howon takes his notepad and starts jotting down the information from Sunggyu “-Meadowbrook, it’s an old neighborhood, east of here, and River Oak, that one is fairly recent…about 5, 6 years ago they built it.  A lot of residents that live there work downtown though, I don’t know if you’ll find much there.”

“What if that’s a common factor between the victims?” Myungsoo says, making both Howon and Sunggyu look at him.  “I would assume downtown is a common spot for people from random places-random like our victims- but what if they all happened to be downtown when he spotted them? And that’s where his pool is?  The two victims that survived, I read from the interview files that one lives in an apartment in downtown, and the other had gone shopping in the strip malls in downtown that morning, if my memory is right.”

“So he could even be living in downtown for all we know though?”

“That-- or he could live in River Oaks like you said but work downtown?”

“ _Good_.  This is good.”  Sunggyu nods his head, starting to feel a rush of motivation stir his mood.  “Let’s get to work then--this could be give us some leads.”

.

.

.

Meanwhile in Tripoli’s Memorial Hospital…

“They found him this morning when the manager came in to open,” a nurse says in a rushed tone, the morning shift starting to pick up as patients moved around.

“Since he’s awake we need to get his consent and collect evidence for the police. Let me talk to him, you go prepare the rape kit,” a doctor orders the nurse before he heads towards the patient’s room. 

“Also, call the chief of the police department.  I think he needs to see this himself.”

.

.

.

“Hello ma’am, my name is sergeant Lee Howon and this is my partner sergeant Kim Myungsoo.  We’re working a homicide, and we found a body in the woods down the road.  We were wondering if you had seen any suspicious activity, anything odd to the normality of this neighborhood..?”

The wrinkles around the woman’s lips carve into a frown as she briefly thinks. 

“I don’t think there has been anything odd..sorry boys,” she dismisses the two with a shake of her head. 

They thank her for her time, handing her a card and asking her to call the department if anything comes up.  Then they head back to the truck, flopping into their seats as sighs escape from both men.

“Maybe the chief was right about not finding anyone at this time.  They’re probably all working now, and the only people we’re getting are grandma and grandpa,” Howon lets out in frustration.

“We’ll try again later in the evening, and maybe get the patrol officers to help us out.  Maybe Sunggyu got something on his end?”

“Yeah.  Let’s head back to the dep—” a ringing cuts Howon off.  He pulls the phone out of his front pocket, reads Sunggyu’s name and answers quickly.  Myungsoo watches him from the side.

“This morning?  A male victim??”

Myungsoo turns his body and widens his eyes as both men stare at each other with this new information.

“Okay.  Okay, yes you meet us there, I’ll use the GPS.  Yes. Bye.”  Howon hangs up and rummages through the center console for the GPS.

“Another victim already? And male??” Myungsoo exasperates.

“He’s alive and talking.  This could be the break we’ve been waiting for.  Sunggyu said they might have DNA too, they’ve sent evidence to the lab.  We’re gonna meet him at the hospital to question the victim.”  Howon states facts as he sets up the GPS.

For the first time since they had arrived in Tripoli, a grin forms on Myungsoo’s face.  Howon could almost imagine Sunggyu’s grin too as he drives off.

When the two men arrive at the hospital and meet up with Sunggyu, they discuss briefly their next move and exchange notes.

“The victim’s name is Jang Dongwoo.  Thirty one years old.  He works at a small diner in downtown.  From what he told the doctor, he had a late shift to closing.  He was attacked _inside_ the diner.  I’ve sent officers to tape off the whole place and canvass for witnesses.  The doctor said he wants to meet with us before we go in to question him.  Here he is,” Sunggyu says as a tall man in a long white coat and clipboard walks in.

“Hello,” he says.

“Hello.  These are my partners, Lee Howon and Kim Myungsoo, they are working on this case with me,” Sunggyu says as he points towards the two.  “Howon, Myungsoo, this is doctor Lee Sungyeol.”

“Nice to meet you,” they exchange greetings.

“I wanted to talk to you officers first regarding Dongwoo. About his condition-he has severe lacerations, bruises, multiple abrasions and a large hematoma to the cranium.  In short, he’s bruised all over and he’s taken a heavy blow to the head.  On top of that the sexual assault and being out cold on the floor the entire night only to be found in that condition... My point is please keep your questions brief and simple.  He’s been through a lot.  I also wanted to give you a suggestion. Please assign someone to guard him.”

“Guard him?” Howon raises an eyebrow at the doctor.

“He firmly believes the assailant will attack him again.  I’m not sure if it’s because something he said during the attack or something else…but he’s convinced he will be assaulted again.  His family is with him now, but they cannot stay with him all the time,” Sungyeol’s face softens, and he seems to give a pleading look to the men.

“We’ll talk to him first, and then we’ll see what we can do.” Sunggyu says, and Sungyeol nods his head, pleased that they are considering it as an option.  “Did you see…any odd markings on him?” Sunggyu continues gently.

“…you mean that number on his back?  Is there a significance to that?”

“Yes, we believe it’s a serial rapist…” Myungsoo says slowly, then adds, “could you read the number?”

“Yes, it was a hundred.”

The three stare at the doctor.  “One hundred…?” Sunggyu says in a small voice, two words speaking volume of much more than what they should.

“That can’t- how-”

“I’m not sure what that means to you officers, but please get the interview done with quickly.”

“Alright,” Howon raises his voice slightly, trying to snap the other two into focus.  “We will talk with him now and then discuss the… _details_ afterwards.  Can you show us his room?

“Sure, come this way,” Sungyeol says and the three men walk with heavy hearts following the white coat.


	5. Prime Meridian

“You said you saw a lady carrying a bunch of clothes walk into the diner after closing time?”

“Yes sir, she was carrying like a laundry basket, and she tapped on the door.   Someone let her in from the inside.  I was smoking a cigarette across the street, but in about…five minutes I’d say?  She went right back out and walked down to the parking lot, got in her car, and drove off.”

“Do you remember the model or color of the car?”

“Yeah, I believe it was a grey kia.  Not sure what year though, but it didn’t look that new.”

Howon’s pen moves swiftly over the notepad.  “What direction did the car leave?”

“Down the street and then left on the corner of that little bakery.”

Howon nods his head.  “Is there anything else that you think might be useful?  Anything you saw or heard?”

“That’s it.  I got in my car and drove home after that, it was already getting late.”

“Okay.  Thank you for your time sir,” Howon says with a curt nod.

“Oh no, thank _you_ sergeant.  All the hard work to find this guy, you’re a beautiful human”

Howon never quite got a grasp on how to handle compliments.  Flustered, he awkwardly murmured a “thank you” and handed the man a card, asking him to give the department a call if he remembers or hears anything he thinks might to useful.

As the man left, Howon leaned back in the chair, flexing his sore muscles as he stretched his arms back.  He let out a breath and then started collecting his belongings.  He would have to pick up some late dinner for Myungsoo, himself, and the victim that they were watching over.  Howon wasn’t sure if the good doctor would still be back at the hotel too, but he decided to bring enough for the four of them anyways.

Desperate for a hot shower and some good food, Howon quickly made his way to the truck and set off.

.

.

.

Nam Woohyun got out of the taxi as he hummed an old tune.  He set his bag down and took a look around, memories rushing back to him as he let himself reminiscence for a while.  It was starting to get dark outside since his flight was a bit delayed, but he didn’t really mind. He scans the parking lot and spots a black car with a man leaned against the side door, taking sips of some beverage.  Woohyun grins, lifting his bag as he meanders through the cars until he comes up to the man, cracking a smile as he leans on the car too.

“Well, hello there chief,” Woohyun chirps.

“Look who decided to finally show up,” Sunggyu snorts.

“My flight was delayed!  Besides, I sent you two of my best to make up for _my_ delay.”

“I know.  Thank you Woohyun. I wanted to call you and say that, but it’s just been one thing after another.  This case has been over my head honestly..I’m glad we’re finally making some progress.”

“I see.  Sitting in the parking lot and sipping cola is progress?  And where are Myungsoo and Howon anyways?”

“Shut up I was just eating and I’m about to head home anyways.  Myungsoo and Howon are with our victim from last night.  He’s staying at their hotel, he didn’t want to stay at the hospital.  Howon said he’ll take care of him, so I’m not worried.”

“I expect he’d do something like that.  Howon would do anything for a case, especially when he sets his mind on it.  Anyways, you said you’re heading back home?”

“Yes why?” Sunggyu says as his eyes wander down to the bag Woohyun held. 

“I don’t like hotels, and you know our budget is limited, with all these cuts in spending and then sending two officers is plenty—“

“Just get in the car Woohyun” Sunggyu cuts him off as he let out a crackled laugh, a genuine smile playing on his lips.

After catching up on this and that, the pair fell into comfortable silence as Sunggyu drove along.  Woohyun lets out a sigh, and then turns to look at Sunggyu.  “Actually I wanted to talk to you about those numbers.  I have a theory, but it’s sort of a stretch.”

“For the case?  Woohyun anything would help, we’re desperate here,” Sunggyu lets out an audible sigh.

“Well… While I was up in Sydon, I scoured our databases to see if I could find anything remotely similar to this case, and I came across something sort of relevant.”

“Which is..?”

“A solved homicide from 8 years ago.  A teacher and a student.  It’s kind of odd.” 

“What happened?”

“In short, the teacher sexually assaulted the student over a period of several months.  The thing is that each time, when he was finished, he would take a red pen and start marking over the victim, ‘giving him his grade’—that’s verbatim from the court records.  I think the same principle could apply to this case..”

“Wait, so it’s this guy? This guy is now carving these ‘grades’ into his victims??”

“I initially thought so, but there’s a small problem.”

 “What?”

“He’s been in the Belkern State Penitentiary for the past 8 years.  And he’s still serving his sentence for the sexual assault of a minor.”

“…”

“Yeah…”

“Damn it Woohyun.  I seriously thought you had something there.”

“Don’t you think it could explain the numbers though?”

“It could…but what if it’s completely unrelated?  I mean this guy chooses different victims..he physically harms them..but it could be a ranking system he has too for his victims too…”

“A way to leave his mark on them…?”

 “…”

“…I don’t know.  I’m just trying to make sense of things.”

“Well he gave Dongwoo a hundred..”

“Dongwoo?”

“The last victim.”

“So this guy likes men..?”

“Why target women too then…?”

“…”

“…”

“Uugghhhhhh” Sunggyu groans out in frustration and Woohyun slumps his shoulders in defeat.

.

.

.

“Well, if you need anything just call me, I gave you my cell number.  Even if it’s in the middle of the night, I’m a light sleeper so I’ll answer right away okay?  Rest a lot and please get some sleep.”  Sungyeol tells Dongwoo as the other lays on the sofa, hugging his knees as he listens. 

“Okay.  Thank you doctor.”  Dongwoo says in a raspy voice.

“I’ll take you back,” Myungsoo says, feeling obliged since it was his idea to bring the doctor with them.

Howon gets up and hands the keys of the truck over to Myungsoo “Keep them, I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere anyways.”

Myungsoo nods, “If you need anything I’ll be in my room afterwards” he says as he leads the doctor out, both men bidding the others good night.  Howon turns around and looks at the Dongwoo, whose eyes had sank into nothingness, their dark contour contrasting with the pale blotches of what’s left of his unharmed skin.  He goes over to him and sits down, leaving an arm’s length between them.

“If you want…I can teach you how to use a gun.  It might make you feel a bit…safer.  I have a glock with me here,” he says as he tilts his head towards a drawer.

Dongwoo stays still, but those dark irises move and lock with Howon’s. 

“…okay.  Yes…teach me please” Dongwoo says.

Contrary to what Howon originally thought, Dongwoo was actually quite an innocent person.  He’s never touched a gun before.  He’s never been that close to one even.  He’s never met a sergeant like Howon.  He’s gotten a couple of tickets, but that’s it.  As the night passes on, the man would randomly reveal little bits of himself to Howon, pieces of his life from before, almost as if pointing to an old photo album from his mind.  Either that or he wasn’t comfortable with the silence that Howon lived in—it didn’t really matter to Howon, all he knew was that he liked Dongwoo’s presence.  He could almost see the older shell of him—a happy, talkative man who would open up his heart to anyone.  He wondered how it would’ve been if they had met differently, under different circumstances, in a different situation. 

As Howon lets his mind run, he presses the magazine catch and releases the magazine, letting it slide out.

“It’s a 15 round standard magazine, so it should be enough if it’s fully loaded.”  Hoya says as he points the glock out in front of him, pulling the slide backwards as he holds it.  He looks inside the barrel to make sure there is no ammunition, and then hands the glock over to Dongwoo for a dry fire. 

“Try it.  Like I told you,” Howon says.

Dongwoo holds the gun out with both hands, following their earlier practices and Howon’s instructions as he dry fires it.

“Good.  Now load it yourself.” He says and gives him the magazine.  The other lets his nimble fingers work the machine, already becoming accustomed to handling it.  Howon watches keenly as Dongwoo reloads the magazine, but instead of watching his handwork, he finds his gaze drifting to the man’s face.  Howon knows he shouldn’t stare, but he couldn’t help it.  His eyes glued themselves to the man’s skin, tracing over every single bruise and crevice, soothing, erasing those marks.  A click is heard as Dongwoo locks the thing into place with a snap.  After feeling satisfied with it, Dongwoo puts the glock back down on the table, and looks at Howon.

“Thanks,” he murmurs quietly, softly, “for teaching me..”

“Sure.  You keep it with you.  Somewhere within reach to the bed.”

“Aren’t you going to stay here too?” Dongwoo says too quickly, alarm filling his voice.

“Yeah, don’t worry, I’ll be here, right across your bed.  This thing opens out”—he says as he pats the seating he’s on--“Just don’t shoot at me,” he slightly trails off.

He finds the other’s eyes, a small breath of life stirring in them as they lock eyesight.  For the first time since he met the man, Howon saw a smile cracked across his face.  The smile seemed to find it’s home, but the busted lip stopped it from reaching the peak of both ends.  Dongwoo darts his tongue out to lick over the lower lip where the cut is, as his fingers automatically reaching up to tap it.

“You need some ice for that?” Howon says.

“No, it’s fine. I just can’t stop playing with it.”

“Don’t pick at it..”

“…”

“…”

“Sergeant…you don’t live here do you?”  Dongwoo asks, venturing out of his shell to reach the other.

“No, I live in Sydon,” Howon says slowly, taking his time, stepping along with Dongwoo’s pace—“But I’ve moved around a lot.”

“I wonder what Sydon is like..I haven’t been up north.”

“Well maybe you could come visit sometime.. You could stay at my place if you want.”

And for the second time that night Dongwoo lets out a smile small.

“I might take you up on that offer..  I want to move from here anyways after..all this” he trails off.

“…”

“…”

“…if you want to talk about..anything..I can listen.  I’m not good at talking, but I can listen..”

“Thanks…but..maybe later.  I think we should get some sleep now..?”

“Yes..yes sure.”

Awkwardly they each fumble around as Dongwoo finds his way to the bed with the loaded glock and Howon sets up the sofa bed.  Howon goes to the door to check it’s locked, and then turns most of the lights off, leaving two lamps to illuminate across the hotel room.  Then he sheds off his shirt and slides into his sofa bed, staring into the ceiling.  The room is quiet for a while, until Dongwoo’s soft voice resonates across to Howon.

“About what you said earlier…listening to me..” and Dongwoo’s voice drops off, leaving his question to Howon.

“Yeah.  Go ahead,” the other assures him.

That night was spent with Dongwoo peeling off cracks from himself to the sergeant.  Nothing he said was related to the assault; rather it seemed like he talked about everything except the previous night.  Howon wasn’t sure if the other couldn’t sleep, or if he needed a distraction.  Either way, Howon once again found comfort in the other’s presence, which honestly was a surprise to him.  Wasn’t he supposed to be the one comforting the other…? 

Then Howon suddenly remembered what he had wanted to ask Dongwoo.  The lady with the laundry basket, was he the one who let her in?  What was that about?  Should he ask now? 

His professional side insisted that he should question the other immediately, get the facts, follow protocol, solve the case.    

Or should he let the man sleep for tonight..? 

A part of him felt sorrowful for the whole ordeal, almost pitying the man, but yet at the same time wanting to put Dongwoo’s comfort forth most.

For the first time since Howon had become a sergeant, he did something that night he never expected himself to do—he let protocol be damned.


	6. Feelings of the Past

“Come on Woohyun, it’s a long drive to Belkern and I have a meeting afterwards” Sunggyu nagged at the other as he hastily grabbed his keys, padfolio, and suitcase.  In mere seconds, Woohyun pops up in front of him, taking the suitcase from Sunggyu as both men head out the door.

It has been a couple years since Sunggyu had spent this much time with Woohyun, and honestly he had missed the other dearly.  Usually Sunggyu would sit in silence while he drives; sometimes listening to the morning radio or some news, but this morning Woohyun’s voice seemed to take over as the other talked non-stop the entire drive.

Time passes unnoticed and soon the two are inside the Belkern State Penitentiary, waiting for the lady to look up information on their inmate.

“…how is it spelt in your case file?”

“Last name Mun, m-u-n, first name Jihun, j-i-h-u-n..”

“…”

“…Is there a problem?”

“…no it’s just we don’t have any inmates by that name.”

“What?” Sunggyu and Woohyun exchange a look.

“Can I?-” Woohyun says as he points towards the computer.

“Sure, go ahead,” the lady says as she moves aside for the two men.  After about 15 minutes of searching, Woohyun is ready to pull his hair out.

“Sunggyu I promise you I saw that case!  I wrote the name down myself, it’s right here, and this is the case number I’m sure!”  Woohyun pounds his finger on the small notepad in front of him, pointing to the scribbled writings.

“Woohyun the case number you wrote down is an aggravated robbery in Bayton.  I don’t know where you got this name from but there’s no inmate here with that name.”

“…”

“Let’s just head back, Woohyun.  I’m gonna be late for the meeting if we stay any longer.  I’ll drop you off at the lab and you can get Sungjong to help you look up who this person is.  Maybe you made a mistake or something.”

Woohyun tilts his head and narrows his eyes at the computer, but then lets out a sigh.

“Okay fine.”

.

.

.

Back in Tripoli, Howon had taken Dongwoo to a nearby country French café, a quiet place where they could have breakfast and talk.  To any passerby the two would seem like childhood friends, one catering to the other as he pushed the food on him and stirred his own coffee. 

“You don’t feel hungry?  Or do you want to talk after you eat…?”

“No, I’m okay, I can talk now.  I just eat slowly.”  Dongwoo told Howon as he chewed his food thoroughly.  Howon nodded, taking another sip of his coffee, as he continued questioning Dongwoo about the new information he got yesterday.  Dongwoo seems to have no idea who the lady was, telling Howon that he never let anyone in after closing.

“Do you have any female workers at the diner that match this description?  Shoulder-length blond hair, stocky, maybe around 5 feet?”

“…no, there’s only two girls that work with us and they’re kind of skinny.”

“Okay,” Howon says as he notes this down.

“…”

“What?  You okay?”

“Do you think you’ll ever manage to catch him” Dongwoo says in a low voice, his fork playing around with the food in front of him.  And Howon suddenly understands.

“Look at me.”

“..?” Dongwoo does.

“I _promise_ you I will find this son of a bitch.  Okay?” 

And Dongwoo just nods.

Meanwhile, Myungsoo had managed to get one of the department’s patrol cars and went to scour around downtown for any sign of the grey kia.  After circling the entire area twice, he gives up and decides to stake out on the corner of the diner.

The hours stretched out for Myungsoo, sweat clinging to his forehead as he rolled his head once, trying to ease the soreness out of his neck.  He was starting to become hungry, and since there was no sign of the woman or the car, he decides to call it a day.  As he’s about to turn on the ignition, an idea struck him.  He could simply pretend to be a customer and eat at the diner, and in turn see if he could pick up any information from inside the diner. 

Myungsoo takes his gun holster off, checking the gun is still secured in it, and shoves it into the glove compartment.  He also removes his badge, wanting to blend in completely.  He lets out a sigh and removes the keys from the ignition, exiting the car and heading towards the diner.

.

.

.

“Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message system.  Please leave your number for 6-8-”  Woohyun hangs up, and tries to send another text message again.

He had called the chief at least a dozen times now, sending him numerous messages and leaving him a couple of voicemails.

“Let me call the department and see if he’s still at the meeting.  Calm down Woohyun, you’re starting to make me anxious acting like this.”  Sungjong tells the other.

“A meeting doesn’t take-what has it been 4 hours now??  Why isn’t he answering me!”  Woohyun lets out in frustration.

Sungjong completely ignores him as he calls Choi, getting an answer around the third ring.

“Hey Choi, I have a quick question for you.  Is Sunggyu still at the deparment?  Is the meeting over?”

“He never showed up.”

“He never showed up to the meeting?”

Woohyun’s eyes enlarged.

“No, he never showed up! His sister came in about half an hour ago and reported him missing.  I don’t know what’s going on, but the department’s in a mess right now.  Officers are looking for him right--”

Woohyun snatches the phone from Sungjong, “are you saying Sunggyu never even made it to the department?”

“..I don’t think so.  Minwoo is looking at the security camera footage now for the parking lots outside and around.  But no one saw him today, no.”

Sungjong snatches his phone back from Woohyun, “okay, thank you, I’ll take Woohyun over there now.  He might’ve been the last one to see him.”

Woohyun wasn’t even listening anymore.  He was trying to think.  Think of where the hell is Sunggyu.  Think of why he never told him.  He could’ve told him this morning.  Right when he was blabbering off that entire drive he could’ve finally told him. 

Sungjong drags him out of his thoughts and out of the room, taking the freedom to call Howon and telling him to meet them at the department too with Myungsoo. 

“I need a car.  Can I take yours?  Will you come with me?”  Woohyun frantically starts to calculate what to do and Sungjong calmly listens.

“You want to go look for him yourself?”

“I know all the places he likes, all the places we used to go to when we were still newbies at the department.  I can’t just freaking sit and do nothing when _god knows what the hell is happening to him right now—_ ”

“Okay.  We’ll go look for him.  Give them a statement first.”

“…”

“Don’t start thinking things.  We’ll find him.”  Sungjong tries to assure him, but they both know that a person, especially a trained and skilled police officer, cannot just simply vanish into thin air…

.

.

Sungjong waits as Woohyun gives his statement to the head investigator on Sunggyu’s missing case.  Myungsoo limply sits beside him, drawing a blank and playing with his keys absentmindedly. Across him Sungjong watches as Dongwoo’s face distorts into all different forms, displaying the turbulent emotions within the man.  Howon seemed to have noticed too, and tries resting an arm on his shoulder, only to startle the other who jumps in shock.  Right then Woohyun walks out, digging in his backpack for an old key from years ago that he’s always kept with him. 

“Myungsoo, here take this—” Woohyun hands him a key, “it’s the key to Sunggyu’s house.  I’ll give you the address in a second.  Upstairs in the bedroom there’s a desk with Sunggyu’s laptop, he keeps everything on there, and all his work and notes too.  Can you get that please?”

“You think the reason he’s missing is because of something he might know..?”

“Maybe.  I’m not sure.  I’ll leave that to you to look into.  I can’t help but think that his disappearance is someway related to this case.  He stays alone, he doesn’t bother anybody, it has to be something from work, and all he’s been focused on is this case.  It has to be related, I’m positive.”

“Even if it isn’t, we cannot just divert all our attention to finding him.  Me and Myungsoo are here for the sexual assault cases, we have to keep working on it,” Howon tries to remind him, his eyes pointing towards Dongwoo who is standing quietly behind him, trying to dissolve himself out of everything.

“Yes, I know, that’s why I want you and Myungsoo to take over from wherever Sunggyu left off.  I’ll try looking for him, but if you come across anything odd in his notes, notify me.”

“Okay..”

 Minutes later the men disperse again, deciding to meet back at the hotel later at night.

Myungsoo arrives at his destination first, making his way to the Sunggyu’s house, and stepping inside.  He heads upstairs, looking for the bedroom with the desk.  Myungsoo finds it quickly; a desk under a window that was cluttered with everything from files to small post-its stuck all over.  He busies himself with packing up the laptop and scouring the papers scattered all over the desk, taking only what he thinks is relevant.

With his back turned towards the door, he didn’t even have a chance to react.  It happened too quick, too soon. 

Myungsoo registers hearing a couple of cracking sounds and voices, but it was the pain that took control of all his senses.  He felt as if a jackhammer was slammed into his back, his central nervous system synapses firing like flashes as adrenaline surged through his body. 

Someone just shot him. 

His legs gave way, swaying forward a foot or two as his body collided with the desk, gravity taking over.

And Myungsoo fell to the ground.


	7. Late Confession

Howon stands at the door of the bedroom as Dongwoo pounces around to pack another set of clothes, taking a week’s worth with him this time. 

“I’m going to tell my mom and sister to come pack everything up later.  I’ll be moving back in with my mom.”

“You don’t want to keep your apartment?” Howon asks Dongwoo.

“No.  I’ve been thinking a lot about some things.  I’m not sure what’s going to happen, but I don’t think you’re gonna be around me forever.  You know, guarding me.  So yeah.  I think it’ll be better if I stay with my mom for a while until I figure out what to do..”

Howon frowns, but Dongwoo can’t see as he swiftly zips up the duffle bag and continues packing the second one.  Howon starts to think too much about Dongwoo, and he wants to say things that he _knows_ he shouldn’t.  He feels things and he desperately wants to let the other know.  Instead though, Howon just keeps his lips sealed tight and only watches with longing eyes as Dongwoo scurried around his apartment in a hurry.  They’re supposed to go meet Myungsoo back at the hotel after he picks up Sunggyu’s items.

While Dongwoo throws another shirt into his bag, Howon’s phone goes off and Dongwoo’s eyes snap up to him.  Howon tells him it’s Sungyeol and steps out of the bedroom to answer while Dongwoo goes back to packing.

.

.

.

Myungsoo struggles with waking up.  He cannot feel anything.  He tries to move, but moving seems so difficult, as if he is trying to push through a heavy two ton truck.   His limbs feel like dead weight, and his body seems frozen, a series of jammed gears that could not move.  So instead he relaxes, letting his other senses take control.  A smell, a very strong odor of what seems like bleach, reaches him, making him want to crinkle his nose.  His eyes flutter open, and all he sees is white, a light too bright staring back at him obnoxiously.  As his eyes slowly adjust, he sees the blurry silhouette of a person come into focus.

_…the medical examiner?  what…am I dead?_

Myungsoo stares at the young man, who seems busy with something that Myungsoo could not see.  Myungsoo starts to get dizzy as he tries to focus, feeling the heat rush to his face.  He knew he was going to pass out again.  And just before he does so, he notices a tall figure step into his line of sight, wearing a white robe and mouthing words to Myungsoo.

_Sungyeol.. its Sungyeol.. Maybe I’m not dead yet._

.

.

.

Woohyun could swear he’s tasting his own bile.  He puts on a pair of latex gloves as officer Minwoo stares at him.

Woohyun asks him again.  “Tell me one more time how you found this.”

The officer seems tired of repeating the same story for the nth time, but does so anyways.  “Okay.  Well first I was out patrolling the Meadowbrook neighborhood.  Then I got a call from dispatch.  A man walking his dog in the park found a body of a woman near the end of the trail-close to where the woods start.  I come in to check it out, and on my way here, I see the car parked with the driver side door open.  I noticed it looks a lot like the chief’s car, so I stopped there first to check it out.  I saw the broken glass and the blood on the seat.  Then I saw his briefcase on the passenger side, and the keys were still in the ignition.  I knew something was wrong, so I called for back up immediately.  After the other officers came, they stayed here and I went over to the edge of the woods to see where the body was found.  And it’s another victim…”

“You didn’t touch anything in the car.  This was exactly how you found it?”

“Yes sir.”

Woohyun nods, and then opens the passenger door.  His eyes notice the familiar phone on the floor, abandoned with all of his messages and missed calls that Sunggyu never got.  He takes the phone, quickly looks through it and then places it in a small paper bag.  He takes another look around the interior of Sunggyu’s car, but it was exactly as he remembers from that morning.

_Why the hell did you come here Sunggyu…why the hell didn’t I tell you before.  I should’ve told you before.  Please, Sunggyu, please.._

Woohyun finds himself shaking.  He puts his head down, unable to keep an even breath anymore.  He leaves the bag on the hood of the car with the paperwork, then clenches his fists as he tries to calm down.

“Minwoo.”

“Yes sir.”

“Take care of this here.  I’m going to go look at the body at the edge of the woods.”

“Okay.”

Woohyun walks away from the car, crossing over from the pavement of the parking lot to the grass.  He walks for a few minutes until he reaches the hoard of officers where the body was found.  An officer he doesn’t recognize walks towards him, meeting him halfway.  The officer starts to give him details.  “She is a previous victim—one of the victims that survived.  He came back and killed her.”

Woohyun stops and looks at him.  “It’s one of the surviving victims?”

“Yes.”

Woohyun walked faster.  His mind was starting to spin. 

_Did Sunggyu know there was a victim here?  Or did he follow the person who was dumping the body?  Did he get caught here? Does this mean they’re coming after the surviving victims now?_

Woohyun halts in his spot and turns to the officer trailing him.  “Will you be kind enough to give me a copy of the report when it’s done?  I have to look into something.”

“Of course sir.  I’ll have it ready for you by tonight when we’re done here.”

“Thanks.”  Woohyun murmurs as he paces back towards the parking lot where Sunggyu’s car was parked.  He circles around the place, his eyes searching for something.  Finding nothing, he then trudges back towards the car, trying to think of anything he might have missed.  He had looked thoroughly inside the car twice by now, but could not find anything.  Sunggyu seemed to have struggled here, there must be something, anything—and then Woohyun drops to his knees, his mind racing.  He hadn’t looked _underneath_ the car yet.  He takes out his phone, using it as a light while his eyes find what they were searching for—his hand reaches out, pulling the object for closer examination. 

His hands played with the black ledger, studying it carefully before he opened it and flipped through the first couple of pages.  It looked like a normal ledger, with credits and debits and finances written in scrawny handwriting.  His mouth slowly turns into a frown and he feels a headache start to take over. 

Now he has a new dead body, a new migraine coming, Sunggyu’s car, Sunggyu’s phone, Sunggyu’s everything but no sign of Sunggyu himself anywhere.  He takes all the items with him to Sungjong’s car and seats himself in the driver’s seat, wanting to go back home.  His hands rest on the wheel as he slumps his head down, his shoulders drooping as he folds himself together.  He quietly lets the feelings locked inside of him for years take over, trickling in streams down his cheeks.

_Sunggyu I love you._


	8. Bleak Light

_Beep…Beep…Beep…Beep…_

That annoying sound was driving Myungsoo insane.  He fidgeted, reaching his hand out to pull the cord off the alarm, not wanting to even open his eyes yet. 

 _Let me sleep._  Myungsoo lets a huff out, his hand grasping at the cord, tugging at it to get it out.  Then he felt someone hold his wrist, quickly peeling his fingers off the cord. 

Annoyed, Myungsoo forces his eyelids to open, finding his hand being held down by none other the doctor in his white coat.

“Sungyeol..?”

“Hey there.  You’re finally awake.  Now can you please stop trying to remove your IV?  I think you kinda need that you know,” the doctor says sheepishly as his teeth show through his smiling face.  Myungsoo stares at him for a second, still in a daze, until he remembers what happened to him.

“I’m alive..” he breathes out, realization smacking him in the face.

“Yeah.  Thankfully.”

As Myungsoo registers his surroundings, he notices he’s lying face down, so he places his palm on the bed and tries to lift himself up.  Immediately a seething pain shoots through his back and he lets out a hiss.  Sungyeol scrambles off his chair from the bedside and comes up to Myungsoo, slowly pushing him back down on the bed.

“Rest. Please.  Don’t try to get up right now.”

“…”

“…”

Myungsoo bites the inside of his cheek until the pain subsides, and then he lets his body relax as he breathes slowly, trying to even out the intervals. 

“How long have I been out?” Myungsoo asks as he turns his head sideways, looking at Sungyeol next to him.

“Since this morning.  The neighbors had heard gunshot and called the police.  Choi was patrolling the area, and he recognized the address was Sunggyu’s house…so he knew something was wrong.  I think it could’ve been worse if he hadn’t brought you here himself.  Anyways, for now can you please just rest?  Don’t try to get up,” Sungyeol says in a stern voice, almost scolding. 

“Yes sir, I’ll just lie comfortably dead for a while” Myungsoo lashes back sarcastically, quickly regretting it as soon as he sees Sungyeol’s face fall.

He watches Sungyeol turn around and head towards the small table in the corner of the room, with various cups and a coffee machine set up on it.  Feeling the guilt swell in his chest, he knew he should apologize.  This man wasn’t the person he should be angry at.  They were supposed to be friends.  Myungsoo finds himself recalling the night when he first sent the doctor home, and how honest the man was with him, quickly forming their friendship without a second thought. 

Wetting his dry lips, Myungsoo’s fingers played with the white bleached bed sheet.

“Sungyeol.. I’m sorry.  I’m just a little bit…frustrated.”

Myungsoo observes the doctor’s faces, seeing a small smile emerge again on his lips as the doctor messes with the coffee machine.

“I know Myungsoo.  It’s okay, I’d be frustrated too if I was stuck lying down on my face for the next couple of days.”

“Couple of days??!! I mean--” Myungsoo tries to control the volume of his voice “I can’t get up for a couple of days… What am I supposed to do here? Get bored out of my skull…” Myungsoo mutters on, cursing whatever asshole decided to shoot him and cursing hospitals along with it.

Sungyeol laughs out at the other, seemingly quite amused.  “Don’t worry Myungsoo.  I’ll keep you company.  I practically live at the hospital anyways.”

Myungsoo grunts, but was nonetheless a bit happy that Sungyeol would be around. 

“Howon and Dongwoo brought you this stuff over.  Well, Dongwoo did.  He brought you some clothes and things in the bag—” Sungyeol says as his leg nudges the plastic bag under the table. 

“And the coffee machine?”

“No, I brought that here,” he chuckles, looking over to Myungsoo again.

“You remember how I told you we should meet up for a cup of coffee sometime?” Sungyeol tells him in a tired voice.

“Yeah, I do. I wanted to, really.  I just—I didn’t expect all this to happen.”

“Yeah.  I wasn’t exactly expecting you to end up a patient at my hospital either.  But at least we can have some coffee right now!” he beams as he pours out the freshly brewed liquid and adds his own flavorings to it. 

Myungsoo can’t help but smile.  “You sound awfully excited about having coffee with me.”

Sungyeol just keeps smiling, as he then puts the two cups on the chair next to Myungsoo’s bed, and takes a blanket from where Myungsoo’s feet lay.  He gently bends down and holds Myungsoo, scaffolding him, as he slowly lifts him up.

“What are you—”

Sungyeol quickly stuffs the blanket undearneath Myungsoo’s chest, also pushing the pillow there to give Myungsoo some leverage.

The doctor smiles back as he hands Myungsoo a Styrofoam cup of brewed coffee before sitting on the bed next to his legs. 

“Thanks.” Myungsoo stares into the dark liquid, letting the steam warm his lips as he takes a sip.  The warm drink soothes him, helping him clear his mind a little bit.  They sit in comfortable silence for a few moments, each sipping drops of their coffee until Myungsoo shifts slightly.

“Can I ask you something?” Myungsoo says as he looks at Sungyeol

“Sure.”

“Was-Did the medical examiner come here or anything like that..?”

“Sungjong?  Yeah he came.  Do you know him?”

“I saw him at the lab.”

“He’s a good friend of mine.  We used to be in the same classes in med school.  He even worked here at this hospital for a while.”

“Then why was he here?  Was Woohyun here too?”

“Uh, no Woohyun came later, and he just left about half an hour ago actually.  Sungjong called me because he wanted to come take the bullet casings.  He said he wants to see if they match to the gun they found at the scene.”

Myungsoo furrows his brows, replying with a grunt as he then returned to his coffee.

“Let them take care of things.  You just rest now.  I’m not going to release from here anytime soon anyways.”

Myungsoo slowly nods, giving Sungyeol a look.  “Okay doctor.  But when I get better I’ll take you to a place with real coffee cups.”

And the doctor just laughs.

.

.

.

… Sunggyu slowly opens his eyes, his cheek sore from the cold concrete floor beneath him.  He tastes blood in his mouth, and runs his tongue over the broken lip, feeling the dried blood clumped on it.  He tries to bring his hand to his face, and then he realizes his hands are tied behind his back, the ropes digging into his wrists.  Twisting his foot, he feels the thick binding around his ankles too, very tightly holding his feet together.  He squirms as he tries to get up, first focusing his weight on his knees, and then thrusting his torso upwards, bringing up his head to look at his surroundings.

Fear courses through his body; he knows that his life is in danger, and that he might get killed with each passing minute.  He has to find a way out.  Sunggyu’s eyes take in everything around him—he’s in a small room, very much like a basement, with cluttered junk piled up along the walls.  The only source of light was from a dirty window well, half-covered with leaves and dirt, letting in only a bleak string of light.  Sunggyu’s knees start to hurt, so he pulls his legs out in front of him, struggling to sit upright without the use of his hands.  When he finally does so, he’s heaving molded air, and his involuntary reflex is making him gag.  He feels dizzy, his body convulsing slightly as he feels like he’s about to throw up.  He swallows the bile, bending his head down to let the blood flow back to his head as he tries to calm himself down.  He breathes.

Suddenly, he hears voices coming from behind the door of the room.  His blood freezes.

“……………………………………”

He can’t hear.  He ceases all his movement, staying completely still as he tries to listen.

“…give me one more week……I promise I’ll get it done…..”

“………..you fucked up twice already you………………”

“....I’m fixing it………..they’ll be distracted for a while……………….it’ll give me enough time………..”

“……………………………………………………”

Sunggyu strains his ears, but the faint voices seem to be going farther away.  After a few moments, an eerie silence takes over and all Sunggyu could hear was his own shallow breaths.  His heart starts beating loudly in his ears.  

_Shit.  I have to get out of here._

Sunggyu struggles towards the door, squirming and thrashing his body towards the three steps of the only way out of the room.  He manages to get to the base of the steps, and then twists his body so that he’s on his knees again, facing the door.  He stays still for a moment to catch his breath.  Then he hears the sound of footsteps.  Panic takes over him.  The sound of footsteps escalates, thudding loudly with each of Sunggyu’s heartbeats, resonating through his ears.

The door bursts open, with Sunggyu right there at the steps, cold sweat drenching his body.  Sunggyu’s heart drops at the familiar face in front of him.

“Y-y-ou! Y--mmpffff!!”

The man had sprung onto Sunggyu, clamping his mouth shut as he suffocated him with a cloth drenched in some liquid that stung Sunggyu’s eyes and burned his throat. 

Sunggyu’s eyes rolled in the back of his head as his muscles reposed, his body slumping backwards as he’s put to sleep once again…

.

.

.

Sungjong looks at the piece of metal in front of him, not quite sure what to make of the evidence splayed out on the table.  He hears a knock on his door, and finds a tired-looking sergeant walking in.  When Woohyun is facing him across the table, Sungjong notices the red eyes.  Sungjong felt his heart squeezed, wanting to comfort the other knowing very well that he must have been crying again.

“Hey kid,” Woohyun says, trying to pretend that everything is okay, that it’s all alright.  But Sungjong knows better.

“So did you manage to find anything from the stuff I gave you?”  his voice is raspy, as if he’s choking on water with each word he lets out.  Sungjong’s eyes flicker for a moment before he lets out a sigh.

“I’m not exactly sure what to make of this…”

“Why?  What did you find?”

“Well… first of all, I got the DNA results back this morning.”

“From Dongwoo?”

“Yes-”

“Did you get a match??”

“No.  It’s not in any of our databases, so I don’t think this guy has been convicted before.  But if you have a suspect, I can compare the samples to see if they match.”

“I don’t.  I don’t have a fucking clue.”

“I know.  But I just thought I should tell you, in case you do suspect anyone.  I also analyzed the things you gave me from Sunggyu’s car and the scene.”  Sungjong continues, almost _feeling_ the other tense at the mention of the chief’s name.

“..and?”

“Not all the blood is Sunggyu’s.  This here is his--” he points to the small cloth sample from the car seat on the table in front of him, “but this one, from the glass, it’s not his.  Actually, it was a perfect match with the DNA sample from Dongwoo.  Look.”  Sungjong places two sheets in front of Woohyun with strange-looking graphs that made no sense to him at all.  But Woohyun didn’t need to know what they meant; he had no doubt in the younger man.

“So Sunggyu’s disappearance is related to the killings..” Sungjong wasn’t sure if Woohyun was speaking to him or to himself.

“There’s more..”

“The ledger?”

“No.  I didn’t find anything on that, I think it’s just a plain ledger, probably misplaced.  I went to the hospital earlier to get the bullets from Sungyeol-from Myungsoo, he was shot this morning too…”

“Yeah, I know, Sungyeol called me.  I was just at the hospital actually.”

“Yes, well, the good news is that they match the gun we found at the scene in Sunggyu’s bedroom; it was right under Myungsoo’s feet actually.”

“Sungjong that’s great!”  Woohyun’s face finally lit up, as he stepped around the table, right next to Sungjong.  “Just trace back the serial number now so we can know who the gun is registered to—we’ll have our suspect and—”

“I did,” Sungjong says as he looks at the piece of metal in front of him again.  “ _This is Sunggyu’s gun_.”


	9. Trust in the Darkness

Dongwoo sits quietly next to Howon, watching him question the lady across the table.  Woohyun had told Howon to go warn the other surviving victim that the assailant is likely to come after her again, and this time to surely kill her. 

“I don’t know where she is, I’m being honest!  I haven’t spoken to her in the past three days, she wants to be left alone and so we’re all leaving her alone.”

Dongwoo puts his hands in his lap and watches, listening to the sergeant side of Howon talking sharply and bluntly.

“Listen ma’am…it would be in your benefit to tell me right now exactly where your sister is.  Today our officers found the body of the other female surviving victim--like your sister—dead.  And I can assure you; whoever had raped your sister is probably going to come after her again for her life.  So, please, I need your full cooperation.  Each minute you spend here bullshitting me is more time for him to kill her.”

Dongwoo watches as the lady’s mouth opens, the façade slowly crumbling into pieces as despair douses her face.

“…”

Howon exhales.

“…she’s with her boyfriend.  She moved in with him ever since…ever since _that_ happened.  He loves her, there is no way he would let anything happen to her.  You’re making it sound so-so—I don’t know!  But she’s going to be okay, he said so himself..”

“I understand.  I have no doubt he would protect the person he loves.  But it’s better if we can make them aware of the situation, to give them some guidelines and advice to be better prepared.  Let me go talk to them, just to let them know.”

“…alright.  Fine.”

“Where does her boyfriend live?”

The lady proceeds to giving Howon the address, and then the name, before she breaks down into tears in front of them.  By then Dongwoo couldn’t take it anymore, and so he tunes himself out of the conversation, looking anywhere in the room except at the lady’s broken face.  After a few more questions and comments from Howon, they finally get up to leave, and head out back to the truck, leaving behind the wailing woman.

Dongwoo sighs as Howon turns the keys in the ignition, the setting sun painting the windshield in streams of dark red in front of them.

“After we talk to the victim and her boyfriend, we’ll head back to the hotel for tonight.  It’ll be nightfall by then anyways,” Howon says while he punches in the address on the GPS.

“How far is the place?”

“The boyfriend’s apartment?”

“Yeah.”

“A forty-five minute drive,” Howon reads off the device in front of him.  “Are you too tired to go?  Do you want me to drop you off at the hotel instead?  I can ask Woohyun to send another officer”

“No, no.  I’m fine.” Dongwoo lies.  He knows he shouldn’t lie, but he honestly did not want another stranger with him alone at the hotel.  Howon, he felt like he could trust Howon.  Yes, the sergeant had been nice to him, he surely wouldn’t want to harm him.

“Shouldn’t you call them first though?”  Dongwoo asks Howon as they drive along, merging onto the highway as the sun sinks lower.

Howon takes a glance at Dongwoo as he drives.  “I guess you didn’t hear her.  They got rid of their phones.  Something about getting tracked and whatnot.  It’s pretty stupid in my opinion…”

“Oh.” Dongwoo suddenly sits up.

“What?”

“Well.  You guys still have mine…”

“Your phone?”

Dongwoo nods.  Howon frowns.

“I don’t think so..  They barely found anything at your scene..”

“But I had it with me that night…”

“Maybe it’s still at the diner?”

“I don’t know.  Probably.  Battery’s probably dead by now anyways.” Dongwoo says as he gently leans back into his seat, not really wanting to think about that night nor the diner.

“I’ll find it for you tomorrow.  Or we can get you a new one if anything.  I’d prefer you keep one with you, so I can get a hold of you quickly.  Not spend an hour long drive like this…” and the rest Dongwoo couldn’t quite hear, because Howon had started muttering by now.  Dongwoo loosens up a little bit, strangely finding comfort in how Howon genuinely seems to care about his well-being.

The rest of the drive is spent with Howon trailing off about his previous cases to Dongwoo, something that Dongwoo had found interesting and always asked him about.  And Howon told Dongwoo everything, not quite sure himself when he had started swaying across the line of professional and personal. 

By nightfall, the truck finally comes to a stop in front of an apartment building.  The two get out of the vehicle and head to the front office, a security guard stopping them at the entrance.  Dongwoo lingers by Howon as he explains the situation.

“What’s the apartment number?”

“It’s..432.” Howon says, reading off his scribbled notes.

“That’s the fourth floor…  I can let you up there, but everyone’s been evacuated from there by now.”

“Evacuated?  Why?”  Howon raises an eyebrow and Dongwoo pulls himself in to listen.

“Well, this afternoon, at about…three something?  A fire broke out in the top floor of the apartment.  Fire and police came, and when they got the fire under control and put it out, there were bodies in two of the apartments.  Police aren’t sure if it’s foul play, so there’s a pending investigation.  They blocked off access to the top floor.”

“…”  Howon closes his eyes for a brief second, and then asks the guard.  “Do you remember what two apartments they were?”

“No, but I can ask Jinhye at the front desk, she probably knows.”

“Why don’t we talk to her too,” Howon says as he moves, turning to look at Dongwoo who follows him along as they head to the front office.  They greet the lady with a nametag that says ‘Jinhye,’ then Howon asks her to tell him what she knows about the fire, and she tells him.

“Do you know what apartment they found bodies in?”

“Yeah, in Mrs. Park’s apartment and in Mr. Jung’s apartment.”

“Can you tell me a little bit about these people?”

“Mrs. Park was a sweet old lady, she’s lived here for a couple years now.  Never caused any trouble, always nice to everyone.  Mr. Jung has been here about a year.  I’ve seen him with his girlfriend a lot lately.  I think she might have moved in with him.  Really nice people, they kept to themselves.  I heard the firefighter telling the policemen they found two bodies on the bed in the bedroom.  Maybe they were asleep and didn’t make it…it’s really tragic.”

“I see.  Thank you for your help, we’ll be leaving now.”  Howon says.

“Do you still want to go upstairs and look?” the guard asks him.

“That won’t be necessary.  Thank you though.  Goodnight.”  Howon replies as his hand finds its way to Dongwoo’s forearm, tightly gripping him as he pulls him along back outside.  Dongwoo complies, and gets into the truck as Howon even shuts the door for him after seating him in.  Howon walks around the front of the truck, his eyes scanning around.  He gets in, his face scrunched as he seats himself.

Dongwoo gives him a concerned look. 

“That.  That was no accidental fire.”  Howon seethes from his teeth, releasing the handbrake as he sets back out on the road.

Dongwoo stares off at the dark night in front of him, the incoming cars’ headlights glaring every so often.

“But-but it was a whole floor.  They were asleep..”

“If a body is too badly burnt, it’ll take a while before they can rule it as a homicide.  They could have had bullets put through their heads and then set on fire.  I don’t know, but I’m really starting to doubt this is the work of one single person.”

Dongwoo watches Howon’s hand clench on the steering wheel.  _Is he angry?_

“Dongwoo.”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t trust _anyone_.”

“…okay.”  Dongwoo says, turning back towards the dark night in front of him.  “But I trust you.”


	10. Silence Before the Storm

Sungjong crosses over the lawn of the two-story house, the lights automatically blaring in response to his movement.  His eyes adjust to the light from the pitch black night, taking in the beautiful home that stood in front of him.  His steps hasten as he catches up with Woohyun who’s already at the door, unlocking it.  They stand still in the entrance for a while as Woohyun studies the door.

“How did they manage to get in…”  Woohyun mumbles as he checks the lock.

“Maybe Myungsoo left the door open..”

“No.  He told me he closed it behind him.  And the lock works fine.”

“…”

“Unless…” Woohyun says as he walks through the house, his feet knowing their way around as he heads to the kitchen, his fingers flipping switches that he knew were already there.  Sungjong follows him, watching the other as he examines the back door.

“You think they broke in through the back?”

“Oh they did.  I think they broke in before Myungsoo even got here.”

“Before he came?”

“Yes.  Look.  Someone drilled a freaking hole through the lock.  If Myungsoo was here, he surely would’ve heard it.”

“So they were already inside before Myungsoo got here…?”

“I think so.”

“Stealing..?”

Woohyun takes a look around the room.  Then he walks past Sungjong to the stairs, hopping up the steps two at a time.  Sungjong follows him as he lets out a sigh.  He finds Woohyun in a bedroom, which he immediately recognizes from the photos as the scene where they had found Myungsoo. 

“Nothing.”  Woohyun says.

“What?”

“They didn’t take anything.  Not his notes, laptop, nothing.  It’s all here.  What the hell were they even doing here?!”

“Look through the house.  You were here last night, try to see if anything is missing or tampered with.” Sungjong suggests, and Woohyun does so.  He sifts through the entire house, Sungjong following him around as they check every room. 

Half an hour later they end up back at the entrance again, and Woohyun runs his hand through his hair as he heaves out in frustration. Sungjong reaches his hand out and places it on Woohyun’s shoulder, patting him as he leads him back outside. Woohyun stops to lock the front door, sniffling as he turns the key.  Sungjong takes a glance to the dark sky above them, a chill tickling his skin as he spots the pale moon overhanging the quiet neighborhood.  He suddenly has the urge to get back to his lab, or even just to his car and lock himself inside, away from the abandoned house and the eerie breeze wrapping its hands around his throat.  

“Let’s go Woohyun,” Sungjong says as he pulls Woohyun back to the car.  They get in, and Sungjong makes sure to lock the car doors before he even puts it in drive.  He glances over to the man next to him, and almost gapes at the vision that shutters from his mind. 

“…what?”  Woohyun says as he sees Sungjong staring at him.

“Nothing.”  Sungjong snaps himself together, putting the car in drive and quickly speeding off as he tries to reassure Woohyun that they will manage.  That everything will be back to normal soon.  That it was only a matter of time before they found Sunggyu.

“Get some rest Woohyun.  You’re not gonna get anything figured out if you don’t pull yourself together.  Go get some sleep, and we’ll try again tomorrow.  Maybe we can get a break in the case.”

“Mm.”  Woohyun barely mutters, staring off into something that Sungjong could not see. 

Sungjong rubs his sweaty palms on the front of his pants, trying to shake off the image that had ran through his head moments before.  He steals another glance at Woohyun, making sure that he was still alive and next to him, making sure that what had flashed before his eyes moments ago was not real.

 _Why the hell did I just see him cut open on my autopsy table_.

.

.

.

.

It’s late when Dongwoo and Howon are finally back at the hotel.  They’re settling in for the night when a knock came to their door, rooting them both in their spots.  Their eyes meet for a brief second before Howon motions with his hand for Dongwoo to stay put, as he heads over to answer the door.  Dongwoo notices Howon’s hand hovering over his gun holster, the muscles in his forearm tensing.  Dongwoo quietly slides his own hand underneath his pillow to grip the cold glock, his eyes never leaving Howon’s back as he opens the door. 

Howon’s shoulders relax as soon as he opens the door, and he greets the person on the other side and starts talking to him.  Dongwoo releases the tight grip on the gun and sits still, not exactly wanting to eavesdrop on the other’s conversation.  He rolls his head once, then stops as he feels the pain on his stretched skin.  His back was bothering him again like it did every night.  He’ll ask Howon later to put on his back some more of that antibiotic ointment the doctor had given him.

After a few moments, Howon closes the door, locking it securely as he walks back in with a black ledger in his hand.  He throws it to his sofa bed, turning to Dongwoo.

“My senior sergeant-Woohyun-he just came to brief me.  You remember him?  We saw him at the station after Sunggyu went missing.”

“Yeah, I remember him..What did he say?”

“He’ll be staying in Myungsoo’s room until Myungsoo comes back.”

“Ah, I see..  What’s that?”  Dongwoo says as he tilts his head to the black ledger.

“Woohyun found it under Sunggyu’s car.   I’m gonna take a look at it, but they couldn’t find anything special with it.  Probably misplaced.”

“Oh okay.  Before you do that, can you—do this—” he says as he holds out the ointment to Howon, who nods his head and goes off to wash his hands. 

When Howon comes back, Dongwoo turns his back to him, lifting his shirt carefully as he holds out the open container for Howon.  Howon dips his fingers in, lathering them, and then gently applies it on Dongwoo’s back.  His fingers gingerly trace their way over the number, dipping and gliding over the skin, then snaking around the crooked loops. 

Howon talks softly to Dongwoo as he does so, telling him useless things, like how he prefers fresh vegetables over cooked ones, or how he’d rather wear sports clothing to work if his boss would let him.  It didn’t matter to Dongwoo, he listened to everything, taking it all in as he felt Howon’s digits over his broken skin.  It was honestly awkward the first time Dongwoo had asked Howon to do that—but now, now it’s part of Dongwoo’s ritual before he can put his head to sleep.

Soon enough, Howon’s done, and he heads back to the bathroom to wash his hands.  Dongwoo pulls his shirt back down, not really caring how the ointment will smear all over it.  He’s going to change again in the morning anyways. 

The night perches on for the two, Howon trying to makes heads or tails from that black ledger Woohyun had left him while Dongwoo texted his sister or talked with his mother from Howon’s phone.  After tearing at his hair for a while, Howon seems to have given up as he gets off his sofa bed and heads to the kitchen for a break. 

Dongwoo gets curious and heads over to Howon’s sleeping place to peek at the ledger.  There are several columns on each page, with values written and telephone numbers and several columns that were not clear to Dongwoo in what they meant.  At the end of the page, the last narrow column always held either a null symbol or a hyphen, crammed to fit on the page.  Dongwoo goes back to the first column, reading over the numbers.  Then his head tilts slightly in confusion.

“Seems pretty normal right?”  Howon’s voice comes beside him.

“Yeah.  No. Well, I don’t know.  I feel like it’s a bit odd.”

“Why? What do you see wrong with it?”  Howon places himself next to Dongwoo, his eyebrows furrowing together as he reads the page again.

“Well I used to keep a ledger at the diner where I worked..but we never had such large figures.  I mean this person has thousands. 33k, 45k, 65k, 100k.  Damn.  I’d have my own accountant with that type of money.” Dongwoo pulls himself off the sofa bed, letting out a sigh as he went back to his own bed. 

“Hm.” Howon had to agree with that.

“Good night sergeant.  Get some sleep too.” Dongwoo tells him as he lays down, setting off to sleep.

“I will.  In a little bit.  Night.”

The minutes stretched into hours, and soon Dongwoo was asleep as Howon continued to bore his eyes into those numbers, thinking and thinking.  He sighs.

_What type of job pays this damn well.  Some large company owner?  A millionaire businessman?  A freaking drug dealer??_

_….maybe Woohyun’s right._

_It’s probably not related to our case…._

Just when Howon was about to surrender for the night, a theory hooks itself onto the back of his mind, clawing at his common sense as it tried to emerge from its burial place.  Then Howon slowly sits up, pieces sliding into place in his mind, locking together as he thinks he’s finally grasped just exactly what they’re dealing with.

_Could it really be…but then…no.  No, I’m missing something.  But it would explain everything.  Almost._

_Ugh, damn it._

He rubs his eyes, weariness taking over his tired body.  Reluctantly, he decides to leave his thoughts hanging where they are for now.  He’ll think more about it tomorrow.  He glances over to the sleeping figure on the bed across him.

_Maybe I’ll ask for Dongwoo’s opinion too._

With a heavy heart, he closes the ledger and puts it on the coffee table beside his gun, laying back down as he eventually succumbs to sleep... 


	11. Catch the Wind...

Woohyun walks into the hospital, finding it oddly empty.  He starts wondering where everyone is, walking around the empty hallways as a feeling of loneliness starts licking at his soul.  He drifts around, looking in the rooms, desperately trying to find any sign of life.  The place reeks of bleach, with white engulfing his entire field of vision--a plain, blank sheet of white stretching in all directions.  He hears a distant thumping, and his feet turn, leading him in the direction of the sound. The sound starts morphing into a louder, distinct pounding, like a drum beating in rhythm with each of his heartbeats.  Woohyun breaks into a sprint down the hall, getting to the end and turning left to where the sound is originating. 

His mouth drops open in shock.

_Sunggyu?_

The man turns around, and Sunggyu’s smiling face is revealed. 

“Woohyun!  I knew you would come. I knew you’d come for me, Woohyun I’m so happy you’re finally here!  What took you so long?  I want to go home Woohyun, please, let’s go” He says as he thumps on the glass door again, his fist red from all the banging.

A moment of relief takes over Woohyun, like cold water running over a burn.  All this time he’s been looking, and here Sunggyu was, waiting for him.  He opens his mouth to answer Sunggyu, the words eagerly wanting to tip over his tongue, but no sound would come out.  Woohyun tries again, pushing with his throat to force the sound out, but all his mouth could give was silence.  Woohyun starts to panic, because he looks again at Sunggyu, and Sunggyu is still talking but Woohyun could not hear what he’s saying.  He blinks, and looks one more time at Sunggyu, dread finding its way into his bones.  When he sees Sunggyu and he sees the figure behind Sunggyu, his body reacts, wanting to jolt forward to him and shove him out of the way, but no, no, his body won’t listen to him.  He’s stuck, watching in horror as the figure shadows Sunggyu, a blade glistering up to his neck, and Woohyun tries to scream---

“Haaaaa---haa-ah---ahhha--” Woohyun jolts awake, gasping slightly as he tries to recover from the nightmare.

He curses himself.

“haa…ahh…huu” He winces at nothing except the mental jabs in his brain.

He forces himself to sit upright, a numbing sensation tapping his limbs as cold sweat drips down his neck.  He squeezes his eyes shut and rubs them…how long has it been since he’s felt like this?  Since when did he have these useless nightmares?

He opens his eyes again and looks at the watch on his nightstand.  5:13 A.M.  He groans, putting his head back down and rubbing his face.

As he’s sitting in his daze, a buzzing sound rings in his ears, the same sound he’d hear in a dentist’s chair getting his cavities removed. 

_The hell.  Am I hearing things now too…_

He shakes himself awake, slapping his cheeks slightly.  But the buzzing kept going, sounding awfully close to his room.  Curious, he slides out of his bed and walks gingerly to the door.  He opens it slowly and looks across the hall, his eyes automatically going to where Dongwoo and Howon’s room is located.

What he sees is probably the oddest scene he’s ever come across in his entire career.

A female with shoulder-length blond hair is crouched in front of their door, a drill in her hand buzzing into the lock of the room.  Instinct takes over, and in a split second Woohyun is tackling the woman to the ground.  She heaves, swinging the drill to his head.  But Woohyun, having more strength, slams her head to the ground, taking a kick to his inner thigh.  They struggle on the floor, the stocky woman not as easy as Woohyun had imagined, as she thrashes and claws at him, screaming curses at the top of her lungs.

“Put—your---hands---behind--- _goddammit--_ ” he detaches himself from her, getting up to his feet and waiting for the golden moment.  Just as the woman gets up and turns her back to take off, Woohyun rams into her, bringing her to the floor, facedown. 

“Stop struggling.  I’m a cop.  I saw you trying to break in damn it and now stop moving or I’m gonna add resisting arrest on top of your charges!”  Woohyun bellows to her, keeping a firm grip on her nape. 

It seems to have registered to her, because she holds still underneath him, not saying a word.  Woohyun wasn’t born yesterday though, and his years as an officer told him he shouldn’t let his guard down for a second.  He catches his breath, his grip on her nape still tight. 

“Tell me your name.”

She seems to hesitate, but then lazily replies.  “..Jung Yejin..”

“Why were you trying to get into that room?”

“…”

He rattles her, asking again as his anger starts to cloud his judgment.  Instead of tensing, the woman starts giggling, loosening herself as if she’s drunk on Woohyun’s threats.

“You’re all sooo stupid”

“What the hell were you trying to do huh?”  And the woman just kept giggling in an annoying way that pissed Woohyun off.  Something snapped inside of him. 

“ _What your plan didn’t work to finish off the last victim we have? Or maybe shoot another officer?_ ”  Woohyun seethes at her, prejudice draping over his perception as his mind poured the blame on her for Myungsoo getting shot, for Dongwoo getting abused, and what burrowed and dug underneath his skin the most was that this woman was part of why Sunggyu was gone.

Her face turns, her eyes looking up at Woohyun as they bulged from their sockets.

“Oh _I know_.  I’m not stupid, lady.  You were in Sunggyu’s house with that drill--”

She bursts out into hysterical laughter, her mouth hanging out like a displaced spectacle.

“So you—ahhaahaa---you’re one of the chief’s dogs!” That damn mouth opens again, and Woohyun feels his blood boil, his patience wearing thin.

“Where the hell is he, _bitch--_ ”

She cuts him off again, her scratchy voice like nails on a board as she starts raging.  “You bastards should thank _me,_ you should be down on your knees, if it wasn’t for me he’d be shipped down south taking ten of them a day, and all you’d ever see of him is his damn bones—”

Woohyun snaps.  All he sees is red.

His mind screams at him not to, but his body moves on its own, his senses in overdrive as his conscious watches in odd tranquility what his body does.

His hands find their way to her neck, pressing, squeezing, choking the life out her and that damn mouth. 

Someone screams down the hallway.  Woohyun snaps his head up, his fingers loosening as the woman wheezes underneath him, gulping for air as it scratches down her lungs.  Soon enough, some of the hotel guests are staggering around, an employee finding his way to them.

Woohyun finds himself again, working quickly on how he should move.

“Stay back please.  I am an officer, and I caught her breaking in—you, you’re an employee correct?”

The employee looks at him bleakly, but nods his head. 

“Okay, good.  Run to my room, 308, and get me the cuffs on the nightstand next to the bed.  Everyone please head back to your rooms.  The situation is taken care of.”

Murmuring ensues, but when the employee comes back with the cuffs, the hotel guests scatter, heading back to their rooms and locking their doors.

Woohyun easily places the cuffs on her wrists, and then checks her condition.  She’s out of breath and weak, but still very much alive.  He almost feels disappointed.

After assuring the employee that there is no need to call the police, he reads the woman her rights, lifting her to her feet as he heads back to his room.  The employee helps him back in the room.  He holds her with him as Woohyun places his shoes on, grabbing his badge and gun, and then shoving his phone, keys, and wallet into his pocket.

“Thanks.  I’ll take care of this-- I’m gonna take her down to the station.  Try to keep everyone calm, and do me a favor please.  Get a bag, that plastic bag over there will do—” he nods his head to a laundry bag hanging in the closet.  “And grab a clean towel from the bathroom.  I need you to put the drill in the bag, but don’t touch it okay?  Just use the towel.  I’m gonna take her to my car, so can you meet me downstairs in the lobby with it?”

The employee nods his head again, and sets off to do as he’s told while Woohyun drags the woman downstairs to the parking lot.  It’s not that she’s resisting him or anything, but Woohyun is pretty sure he was close enough to ending her existence from how she couldn’t hold herself upright. 

The elevator dings, and the doors open.  Woohyun heads out with the woman to the empty lobby, and then passes through to get to the parking lot outside.  They exit the hotel, and walk down the sidewalk.  It’s awfully quiet, but Woohyun would expect that at five-something in the morning.  His eyes wander around, passing over a car with the engine running and headlights on, at the opposite side of the lot. 

He doesn’t think much of it—people come and go all the time at a hotel.

He gets to his car and unlocks it.

He’s about to open the back door to place the woman inside, when what sounds like a roar of deafening thunder plunges at them, tires screeching underneath the clatters of a semi-automatic’s bullets hurtling in their direction.


	12. ...It Slips your Hand

Woohyun yanks the woman down with him as he hits the floor, his hand automatically reaching for his gun.  The clanging of metal on metal bombarded his senses, glass spraying everywhere as the shots punched holes into his car.  He kept himself low, waiting for the rain of bullets to stop.  It all happened so fast, and before he knew it he’s let go of the woman and has his gun aimed at the car zooming off.  He fires back as the wheels screech off farther, running after it as he emptied his gun, shattering the back windshield of the grey kia.  His legs are no match, and his common sense told him to hold his ground and use his head.

“WHAT THE FUCK” he yells out after the disappearing car in the distance, the veins popping in his neck. 

It didn’t have a license plate.

He puts his clenched arms down to his sides, and then sways them up and down as frustration built up in him.  He drew in a deep gulp of air and tried to relax himself, the events of the morning straining his mind.  He takes a quick look at himself.  Miraculously, he’s not hit anywhere, just a few scrapes on his forearms and some cuts from the glass.

He starts mumbling under his breath, “What the hell first that weird lady and now—”

Suddenly remembering her, he turns on his heel, and rushes back to the front of his car to where she was with him on the ground. 

“Hey are you— _no_ ” he groans as soon as he sees the splatter of blood painting her spot.  He looks at her more closely and notices the defects embedded in the left side of her skull.  The day hasn’t even started and things are already plunging downhill. 

He sits on the pavement next to the motionless body, leaning his back on the car as he held his gun.  He thought the events through, combing through the morning one minute at a time.

_That car…a grey kia..didn’t Howon mention something about that…?  They were probably waiting for something…the engine was already running…_

No wonder he wasn’t hit.  He was never their target in the first place.  They must have been waiting for the woman.  Woohyun looks down at her next to him.  Death seems to be riding on his back ever since he stepped in Tripoli.  He suddenly jolts as he remembers the reason all this started.  He hastily takes his phone out, calling Howon as he scanned his surroundings, keeping an eye on every single angle.

“Yeah Sarge?”

“Where the _hell_ are you?  Where’s Dongwoo?”

“He’s right here—”

“You didn’t hear that drill or is something wrong with your head?!” 

“What?  What drill?”

“Where are you?”

“We’re at the hospital with Myungsoo here, so calm down. What happened with you?”

“You’re not in your room?”

“No, we’ve been here since about four..”

“In the morning..?”

“I couldn’t sleep…and Dongwoo was up already…so he suggested we come see Myungsoo and talk about some things..did something happen?”

“Yes.  Yes, a lot happened.”

“Can you come over here then?  I have to talk to you anyways.  And not over the phone.”

Woohyun looks at himself again and then at the body swimming in blood.  “Give me an hour or so…I’ll tell you everything when I see you.”

“Okay.  See you soon Sarge.”

“Yeah. Bye.”  Woohyun ends the call and rests the phone on the side of his head as he thought.

He lets out a heavy sigh, before holding the phone again to call in the forensic team.  He asks dispatch to also send Choi and Minwoo, since he knew he could trust his old peers. 

After doing so, he rests back and waits for them to come, a thin sheet of sweat still clinging on his skin despite the cool morning breeze.  He looks at the casings around him and inspects one of them.   A 9mm.  The firing sounds though, he was almost certain he’s heard them many times before. 

_Could it be a Sigpro..?_

It sounded the same as when he’d practice in the shooting range.  In a few moments he heard the crunching of gravel and whipped his head up.  He saw the flashing lights as a patrol car pulled into the parking lot.  Minwoo came out of the car and walked up to Woohyun, his face awestruck. 

“Good morning Minwoo,” Woohyun tries.

“Good morning?  I don’t see anything good about it..”  He takes his cap off, his eyes still trying to make sense of what he’s seeing.  “What..what happened here??”

“The gods hate me,” Woohyun mumbles under his breath, and Minwoo doesn’t hear, so he asks him again, his eyes glancing back and forth at the casings strewn all over the ground. 

“I found this woman trying to break in to our victim’s room.  I was about to put her in my car to take her back to the station for questioning…  I guess her friends were waiting for her in that spot over there—” he briefly lifts his head to the parking spot the car was in “and yeah.  They made sure she’s dead..”

Minwoo lets out a sigh, his troubled face making him look aged by years.  “Woohyun…to be honest things are really starting to get to me…all these killings, we’ve _never_ had something like this.  Not this many people.”  He shudders slightly as Woohyun nods in agreement, getting up to his feet.

Minwoo sighs again as he puts aside his emotions and works like the mechanical machine he is.  “I’ll take a statement from you and some pictures to get you done.  I’m sure you have other things to do than wait for them to work this scene.” 

“That would be great” Woohyun agrees. 

Soon enough the place was blocked off, but Woohyun was still lingering around.  He was just wondering why Choi hadn’t come yet when his car pulled in.  The disheveled officer ran up to Woohyun, apologizing for being late.  “I was asleep, sorry--”

“It’s okay they got it from here.  Maybe you should go back home Choi you look _awful_ ,” Woohyun bluntly told the man.  It seemed like he just wrestled his way through a jungle.

“Well, it’s just been busy, you know…”

“Yeah, I know”

“So who’s the victim?  Dispatch said it was attempted breaking and entry?”  Choi says as he pulls out his small notepad.

“At least.  Victim’s over there, we still have no idea who she is.  I went around asking people and no one said they’d seen her here.  She’s not even a hotel guest, I checked with the front desk.”

“Okay,” Choi says as he walks to where she lay.

Woohyun was about to say something else, but the look on Choi’s face caught his attention.  It seemed as if his soul had left his body as soon as he saw the woman resting in a pool of blood.  The color drained from his face, his eyes reflecting the horror in his soul.

Woohyun put his hand on the man’s shoulder, trying to give him strength.  “…are you okay Choi..?”  he asked gently.

The man didn’t move, didn’t look at Woohyun, but simply nodded his head slightly, blinking a couple of times. 

“Yeah.  Yeah I’m fine.”  His voice was barely a whisper as he walked away, heading in the opposite direction of the body.

Woohyun almost pitied him.  The scene was probably gruesome to these officers who hadn’t met death as often as he had.  Or maybe it was all the blood?  Woohyun wasn’t sure, but he let it be, making his way back inside the hotel.  He looked at his clothes—still in a wifebeater and the sweatpants he had slept in—he needed to change and take a shower before heading to meet Howon and Myungsoo.

.

.

.

.

Myugsoo looks at Howon across him, after the other has finished explaining and laying out his thoughts to him.  Dongwoo sat quietly to his other side, nodding and agreeing, while Sungyeol kept his mouth hanging open at the conversation he had just heard.  

Myungsoo let it all sink into his mind as his hands played with the black ledger in front of him.

“…so you think it’s some type of human trafficking?”


	13. Cross Section

Sunggyu rolls over onto his back, his hands uncomfortably sticking in his lower back.   He stares at the ceiling, the feeling of despair clouding his mind.  He starts wondering again what’s going to happen to him, but his thoughts are cut short as he feels the jabs in his stomach again.  He writhes in agony, groaning and twisting to his side from hunger pains.   He swallows his own spit, trying to soothe his scratchy throat, the dryness annoying him.

He finds himself hoping that the woman would come again—he was beyond hungry and thirsty by now, and she was usually the one that brought him his meals.

As if on cue, the door opens, and Sunggyu waits patiently with his head down for her to come next to him.  He hears the footsteps approach him, the person crouching and then sitting next to his side.  Sunggyu finds it odd she hasn’t said anything yet.  So he opens his eyes and looks.  His face hardens immediately, the sour taste of betrayal lingering in his mouth.

“What…what do I do now..?”

Sunggyu looks at him slightly confused.

_Is he asking me what he should do?  Is he feeling guilty now…?_

“Turn yourself in” Sunggyu’s raspy voice comes out, coated in pain.

“…”

The silence makes Sunggyu wonder what’s going through his head.  Then he realizes; this could be an opening to get to him.  This could be his chance to break him.  Sunggyu pushes on, trying to put his scrambled thoughts together. “What you’re doing is wrong Choi…let us help you get out of this…this--”

“She’s dead”

“Wha-ht?”

“My wife is dead. _How are you going to help me with that?_ ” he breathes into Sunggyu’s face, and Sunggyu tries turning his head away, disgust making his fingers curl.

“Isn’t that more reason to help us?  To get her killers?” Sunggyu pants out quickly, feeling dizzy as dark spots start appearing in his vision.  If only he wasn’t so dehydrated and tired, he would’ve hurled the bastard across the room by now.

“No, no, _you don’t understand,_ none of you do,” he pulls Sunggyu up by his shirt, dragging him towards the door, “I’ll trade _you_ instead, that’s how you’ll help me chief.”

Sunggyu wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean, but he knew it wasn’t good.

“Where are you taking me?” he rasped out, his breathing haggard.

“For a little drive.  You’ll know later.”

_Then we have to head outside._

He let his body loosen, making himself be dead weight, being carried up those three steps and across the room.  The house was in an absolute wreck, things thrown around and shattered as if the place was turned upside down.  His blood started pumping, anticipation tingling in his fingertips at a chance of escape.  They reach the front door of the house, and Sunggyu notices a bag packed tightly.  He pays it no attention as Choi has Sunggyu pulled up against the door now, keeping him upright.

Sunggyu’s tries remembering how to breathe with Choi’s hand digging into his side.

“S-stop”

“Start walking”

He opens the door, yanking Sunggyu with him as they head outside.  They barely make it a few feet before Sunggyu takes his chance, sending a kick to Choi’s leg as he takes off across the lawn, letting out a wretched scream. 

It was  a pity really.

He completely underestimated how much of a toll his captivity had taken on his body.  He feels the breath knocked out of him as Choi rams into his back, bringing him down, a struggle ensuing on the ground.  Choi turns him over, implanting punches to the side of his head, wearing him down completely.  Sunggyu still fights back, his fingers digging into Choi’s face, his eyes, as he flailed wildly, curses spewing out of his mouth.  When Choi drives his knee into Sunggyu’s abdomen, Sunggyu’s arm stops for a split second, just enough for Choi to grab both of his hands and throw his body over Sunggyu’s face, pinning him down effectively.

In a matter of seconds Sunggyu’s hands are cuffed, and Choi pulls him up again harshly, those darks spots blotching his vision as he feels like he’s about to go under.  Choi’s hands hook beneath Sunggyu’s underarms, dragging him to the car as he throws him into the backseat.  The smell of the leather seat shoots up into his nostrils, and he feels something warm trickling down his face.  He tries to get up, only to fall back down into darkness as he passes out.

Choi looks around panicked, as he runs back into the house to get his bag and a blanket.  He opens the trunk and throws the bag in, then opens the backdoor to his car, covering the chief with a blanket.  He’s about to jump in the driver’s seat to speed off, but stops for a second to look at the blood flowing down Sunggyu’s face, guilt gnawing at his insides.

He bends down and whispers in Sunggyu’s ear, his hand running down the chief’s cheek, “ _I’m sorry Sunggyu, I have to, I’m so sorry_.”

.

.

.

.

Myungsoo gets up, feeling much better as he walks around the hospital room, lifting his elbows and swinging his limbs back and forth.

“You should sit down,” Howon tells him from his chair.

 “I feel fine though..”

“I know.  But Sungyeol said—”

“Kim Myungsoo sit your ass back in that bed,” Sungyeol hollers at him from the door.

“There you go” Howon murmurs, tilting his head slightly.

Myungsoo stops and slouches, turning his head to look at Sungyeol.  He sees Woohyun walk in too, bandages covering his forearms.

“I took care of him.  They’re little scrapes, nothing serious.”  Sungyeol says as they walk into the room, gathering around Myungsoo’s bed. 

“About what Howon said…what do you think Woohyun?”  Myungsoo asks as he sits back on the bed.

“Show me that ledger again.  You said the amounts match with the numbers on the victim’s bodies?”

“Yes,” Myungsoo opens the ledger and lays it in front, explaining to Woohyun.  “See this?  40k, 33k, 45k, 65k, 100k.  They’re payments they get from each person they use.”

“But look at this list.  It’s huge.  We don’t have that many victims.”

“We don’t have that many victims _found_. They might even still be alive and forced into prostitution or some type of sexual slavery..”  Howon adds. 

“Then why suddenly find some here?”

“Because someone must’ve messed up, _from_ here.”

“So..the victims are picked up from here—”

“or anywhere else”

“—and sent to somewhere else?  Like some red-light district?”  Woohyun asks, a tint of sarcasm coloring his voice.

“…you don’t think so?” Myungsoo drops his voice.

“Look, there has to be several people involved in this.  It’s way too organized, and way too convenient how these recent bodies have been found, some alive and then ending up dead.  Don’t you think someone’s cleaning up the mistake by going back and killing the surviving victims?  What about that woman today--she matches the same description from the witness that said he saw her at Dongwoo’s scene.  She messed up too probably, which is why she’s dead now.  Sunggyu’s disappeared because he’s head investigator on this case.  Now tell me that’s all just coincidence.”  Howon argues back, slightly raising his voice.

Myungsoo feels the tension building up, thoroughly surprised because he’s never seen Howon defy their sergeant like this before.

“Why don’t we just run through everything again.  Calmly?”  Myungsoo eyes Howon as he speaks.

“…”

“…”

“Okay.  Start from the beginning.”  Woohyun says as he rubs his face, the lack of sleep leaving its marks on him.

Howon lets out a sigh, and the three put their heads together again.  Sungyeol watches them quietly from the side, worry plastered all over his face.  He hears footsteps at the door, and turns to see Dongwoo about to come in with a bottle of water in his hand.  Sungyeol heads up to him, for some reason not wanting him to be here right now.

“Dongwoo, can you come and help me with something?” Sungyeol blurts out, not quite sure what he might need help with.

“…me?”

“Yeah, I-umm-I’m gonna go ask for a couple days off.  You can help me beg my boss.”

“What?”

“My boss is--she’s a bit--you know.  Please just come help me.  Besides, they’re busy talking about stuff in there.” 

Dongwoo eyes him slightly and then takes a peek behind Sungyeol’s shoulder, catching Howon’s gaze.  He nods his head, and Dongwoo understands, so he just shrugs his shoulders to Sungyeol. 

“Okay, sure.”

About an hour passes, the sun’s rays seeping in through the hospital windows as patients awoke from their slumber.  Dongwoo has yet to even see Sungyeol’s boss, since the doctor suddenly found himself hungry and insisted on taking Dongwoo with him to have breakfast.  Dongwoo was quite glad though, he was slightly hungry and not to mention Sungyeol certainly knew how to keep a person company.

.

.

.

.

Sunggyu stirs, as he feels a cold liquid splattering on his face.  He shakes his head slightly, breathing out.  It stops and Sunggyu opens his eyes. 

He sees Choi with a water bottle over his head.  He feels a cold chill pass in from the open car door behind his head.  His cheek is plastered on the leather seat, his hands still in cuffs behind his back.

_How long have I been out?  How long has he been driving?_

His eyes dart around, trying to look up and out of the car door.

“Don’t strain yourself.  We’re way far from Tripoli.”

Sunggyu looks at Choi with loathing.  The man steps out of the car, his hand still on the car door above Sunggyu’s head.  He sees him pulls out a phone, and then walk about two feet away to talk.  Sunggyu keeps still, trying to listen to as Choi edges around with the phone.

“…bring him to the south border in Lima and we’ll exchange.  I’ll call you on this phone.  Four days Woohyun, I’m not waiting longer than that”

_Woohyun?!_

Sunggyu couldn’t help but heave in exaltation, emotions threatening to boil out of him. 

“… _oh really_?”  Choi hisses as he plunges down and grabs Sunggyu by the throat. 

He puts the phone on Sunggyu’s ear, and Sunggyu hears yelling on the other side.  He recognizes the voice immediately, as a wave of emotions took over him, overwhelming him completely.

“ _Woohyun ple—_ ”  Sunggyu gasps as Choi sends a hit right on top of Sunggyu’s chest, taking the phone back.  He hurls it as far as he could, then turns around to Sunggyu. 

“ _I hate you_ ,”  Sunggyu chokes out, being at the tip of a complete breakdown. 

Choi slams the car door, ignoring the screams from the back seat as he drove off again.

.

.

.

“What?!  What did he say?”  Myungsoo was shaking Woohyun, trying to get to him.

“G-get Dongwoo. Get Dongwoo.” Woohyun says in a low voice, and Howon looks straight at him, the tips of his mouth turning into a snarl.

“Why?”

“Because he said he wants Dongwoo in exchange for Sunggyu--”

Woohyun didn’t get to explain much farther than that.  Next thing he knows Howon is aiming a swing to his face and Myungsoo is trying to pull them apart.


	14. It's All in your Mind

Sungjong clutches the bag close to his chest as he practically jogs down the hospital hallways.  His palms are sweaty, the weight of the contents in his bag pressuring his mind. 

_Woohyun, Woohyun, Woohyun how did you never see this coming…_

Sungjong scans the numbers on the doors, rushing until he gets to the one he’s looking for.  He pounds on the door rapidly, and it opens almost immediately, revealing an irritated Myungsoo.

“…you already got everything?” he asks.

“Yes.”

“Just let him in Myungsoo,” Woohyun’s tired voice comes from inside the room.  Myungsoo moves aside, letting him in as he shuts the door back behind him.

The first thing Sungjong notices is the red swelling underneath Woohyun’s left eye socket.  Then he notices Howon with a busted lip sitting right next to Woohyun.

“Did..something happen?” 

Myungsoo pulled up a chair for Sungjong as he sat down in his own.  “A slight.. _misunderstanding_. They’re over it now though,” Myungsoo says, his irritation showing again.

“I see.” Sungjong holds his tongue.  There were more pressing matters to be taken care of first.

“Did you look at the lady from this morning?”  Woohyun tries steering off the subject.

“Yes.  Choi Yejin.”

“Wait, she told me her name is Jung Yejin,” Woohyun cuts in.

“Maiden name is Jung.  She’s Choi’s wife.” Sungjong can see the gears in Woohyun’s head churning, hindsight biting him in the ass.

“Well fuck”

“Exactly”

“What?” Myungsoo asks the two.

“I knew he looked shocked when he saw her body.  He always works with Sunggyu.  He had access to all the details from our side.  He knew _everything_.”

“He knew how to shoot someone in the back” Myungsoo grinded his teeth, spite forming on his tongue.

“And she had that drill.  She was in Sunggyu’s house, probably with him?  You think he shot you?” Howon looks at Myungsoo.

“I don’t know, but I know for sure I heard voices.  Definitely more than one person.”

“I’m not done.” Sungjong snaps, a demand underlying his tone.  “They have a daughter.  A couple of months ago Choi’s wife filed a missing on her, but not in this district.”

“Don’t they live here though?”  Howon tilts his head as he looks at Woohyun and then back at Sungjong.

“Yes.  But the report was filed in the Belkern district.  Her case is at a standstill over there.  About three weeks after that report was filed we started finding bodies in Tripoli.”

“Belkern district?  I went with Sunggyu to the State Penitary there for that one case—oh god he probably put that in the database himself.  No wonder we couldn’t find the guy in there.”

“Isn’t that the day Sunggyu went missing?”

“Yes..”

“I don’t think this is going to help right now” Myungsoo says quietly.

“He’s right.  We need to get down to Lima…with Dongwoo,” Howon bites out the last two words, quite reluctantly.

“Me and you will drive down there.  We can probably catch up to him if we drive in shifts nonstop.  I’m pretty sure he’ll just take interstate 25, it’s just desert, no one will bother him. Myungsoo, you get a warrant signed by a judge and go turn Choi’s house upside down.  We have enough probable cause to arrest him anyways,” Woohyun says as he puts his hands together, his eyes focused.

“We should also send out an alert for his car, but I doubt he’ll use his own car.  I’ll call the office in Lima to let them know our situation.”  Myungsoo adds.

Howon looks again at Woohyun.  “Can you talk to border patrol?  Since Lima is so close to the border…I don’t want him to slip out of the country before we get to him.”

“Yeah, I’ll talk to them.  I’ll also get more people to work on this.  There's a naval air station close by, and I think I can ask some people at the base if they can get Myungsoo down to Lima.  They're always training, so you can probably just get on a chopper from there and head to Lima. If you get there before us, you can mobilize a team together and try looking for any signs of human trafficking.  Maybe we can find the people Choi’s involved with and get them to talk.”

“Okay, I'll go get all the paperwork done, you guys should leave soon.  If it doesn't work out at the base I'll just follow you,” Myungsoo says as he stands up.

“Alright," Woohyun says.  "Let’s get our things together and meet at the empty lot on Arbrook,” he tells Howon as they both stand up together.  “Sungjong you come with me.”

“Wait-what?  Woohyun I work in the lab in case you’re forgetting.”

“It takes at least three days to drive down there.  Just drive, we can take shifts, you drive, I drive, until we get to Lima.  You’re good at digging information on people, you can help me down there too, please?”

Sungjong shuts his eyes for a long second, then opens them again and mumbles a “ _fine, whatever_ ” under his breath.  Woohyun seems satisfied, and he gives Howon one last look.

“Do you want to tell Dongwoo..?” he says quietly, his eyes veering to the side, avoiding Howon’s.

“…yeah.  Yeah, I’ll tell him.  Let’s go.”

“And tell him I’m sorry,” Woohyun says quietly as he nods his head once before heading out the door, Myungsoo following him.  Sungjong turns around to Howon and hands him the bag he’s been holding.

“What’s this?”  Howon questions.

“You asked for Dongwoo’s phone records.  It’s all in there.  I also printed the transcripts of all the phone calls placed that night he was assaulted and afterwards.”

“Thanks…”  Sungjong smiles softly to Howon, and then pats his arm.

“It’ll be okay,” he says before exiting the room too, leaving Howon’s mind in turmoil.

.

.

.

There was nothing but the long road stretching out in the distance.  Barren land spread out on either side, the scorching sun of noon creating sparkling mirrors of light as it heated the ground.  It was all empty, a void full of nothing displaying Sunggyu’s heart.  He found himself thinking about his life again.  Will his sister miss him?  What about his parents, what would they say?  They always wanted him to find a partner, get settled, _live life_ , they had told him again and again.

He wished he had listened to them.  Here he was pushing through his thirties, and still could not get a stable relationship.

 _All you do is work._ The first one said before slamming the door on him.

 _Is your job more important than me?_ Another one screamed in his face.

 _You have to go out to work in the middle of the night, really?_   Another argument before the last straw was drawn. 

It always baffled him how no one could understand how demanding his job was.  The radio spat out gibberish news, a sound that scratched in the background as Sunggyu’s thoughts untangled themselves from his mind.  He knew it was dangerous.  These thoughts that he’s bundled together and stowed in the depths of his mind should be kept buried.  Yet now they find the audacity to stir in him, make him question everything he’s ever done, making him rethink and relive his time as if he’s on death row, his execution date dawning near.  He felt pieces of his being break off, despair and the unknown latching onto him, shattering the peace in his life.  What has he been doing all his life?  He didn’t want it to end yet, no, he still had many more things he needed to do.  If only he could get one more chance, he prayed helplessly, false hopes springing in him, elevating and then crashing down again when reality fights into his mind.

_Woohyun will come to you. They will find you._

The little voice in his mind kept assuring him, a mantra playing in his head to calm him down.  Sunggyu’s eyes wander aimlessly around before they fall on the driver, studying him from the face down.  He lingers for a while on the glistering black tucked neatly in his belt, before his eyes continue onwards, looping and reaching back to the rearview mirror. 

Choi glances at the mirror and their eyes meet for a split second before Sunggyu turns his head away, his face devoid of any emotion.  Choi glances at the mirror a couple more times before he makes up his mind.  Only minutes pass before Sunggyu hears the turn signal clicking, as the car heads into an exit on the right.  Sunggyu’s heart starts pounding in his chest with each click, thoughts racing through his mind, scenarios flashing in front of him of how his end will come.

Choi drives for only a couple more minutes, but to Sunggyu they seemed like hours as he panicked, his head whipping from side to side to see where they are headed.  They pass a small diner and some sort of car repair shop, and then Choi makes a turn and goes into a parking lot of an empty gas station.  He slowly drives around the building, and Sunggyu sees the wood boards nailed around the windows, graffiti covering the front entrance, spelling out ‘CLOSED.’  They drive to the back, the car slipping from the outside view as it hid behind the building.  Sunggyu is still trying to figure out why they’re here when Choi parks the car, turning it off. 

A silence stretches between the two, Choi not looking behind him and Sunggyu boring holes into the back of Choi’s head, sweat starting to slide down his panic-gripped face. 

“What-what are you…” Sunggyu couldn’t even finish.  He could hear a pounding in his head, his shallow breath audible now.

Choi doesn’t reply.  He doesn’t move an inch.  His eyes are focused on the barred windows, but Sunggyu can tell Choi couldn’t even see them.  He was seeing something else, something from his mind that Sunggyu could not see, and it is what Sunggyu feared.

Then Choi finally, and very slowly, turned his head around and looked at Sunggyu.  His lips distorted into a crooked smile, and Sunggyu knew there was no honesty behind it.  His breath hitched and his eyes bulged, an invisible timer ticking off a countdown in his head. Sunggyu could not hide it anymore.

Choi notices, because the next words he says drive nails into Sunggyu’s heart.

“Don’t worry.  _I won’t hurt you_.”


	15. March Forward, Soldier

Choi steps out of the car, and slams the door behind him.  He walks behind the car and starts rattling in the trunk.  Sunggyu doesn’t waste a second.  He fumbles with the door handle, trying to unlock it.  He quickly realizes Choi must have the child lock engaged, because the handle moves freely but the door would not open.  He throws his body at the door with the full force of all his anguish.  Once. Twice.

“Stop that”

Sunggyu curses out loud as he whips his head around to see Choi on the seat next to him, holding in his hands… _food?_

.

.

.

“You know he’s a lot like you,” Sungjong says as he plays with the radio, switching through the stations.

“What do you mean he’s like me?” Woohyun shoots back.

“You’re both so freaking stubborn”

“I have my reasons”

“He probably has his too”

Woohyun just grunts in reply.

Sungjong finds a station and lets it hum softly in the background as he sits back and relaxes himself in his seat.  “So care to explain why he gave you that black eye?”

“It’s just a small bruise”

Sungjong gives him _the_ look.   Woohyun has known Sungjong for far too many years, and he could _feel_ that Sungjong was giving him that look without even seeing his face.  He better explain.

“When we got the phone call, I kind of…spoke without too much consideration.  I take partial blame, I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t in the wrong,” Woohyun glances and meets Sungjong’s eyes staring at him, “but he lost his temper way too quickly too.”

“He doesn’t like the idea of bringing Dongwoo to Lima?”

“The idea of getting Dongwoo near Choi”

“Choi isn’t the one who assaulted Dongwoo…”

“You sure?”

“DNA didn’t match”

“He had a part in getting to that though, right?”

“Maybe.  But Woohyun, what exactly do you plan to do with Dongwoo when we get to Lima?”

“I have about two days to think about that”

“I think I want to give you the other black eye”

_………………............................................................................................................................................................................................._

_Meanwhile at the naval air base back in Triploli..._

“Sungyeol you’re not even in the police force, I _cannot_ bring you with me,” Myungsoo tries keeping his voice down.  The two have been bickering nonstop for the past 15 minutes.

“I already took a week off.  I went with Dongwoo and asked my boss.”

Sungyeol steps closer to Myungsoo, excitement tingling from his limbs like little electric shocks crackling in the air.  “Come on Myungsoo, I’ve always wanted to ride a helicopter, I love them!  And anyways, you’re not gonna get far with the condition your back is in, you’re gonna need medication and check-ups and such.  I can go help!”

“No.” 

“Why not?”

Myungsoo heaves as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other, waiting for the instructor to come back as his thoughts wrap themselves around him, enclosing him in a shell of himself.  He had taken care of everything Woohyun instructed and was desperately trying to get someone to send him to Lima before nightfall.  He could already see the birth of a sun set from the office window, golden rays trickling slowly behind the darkness.

“Myungsoo.”

Myungsoo follows the dim light and locks his gaze with Sungyeol, his face stoic for a moment, the willingness to express his concerns bubbling underneath a thin mask on his face.  He shouldn’t bring Sungyeol along.  Who brings a doctor to the front line of a battlefield?

“Myungsoo.”

Then again his back really was messed up, and Sungyeol could just check him off without having to go through a hospital and all that mess.  It would be more efficient.

“Myungsoo.”

 _Or maybe you just don’t want to leave him behind_.

Myungsoo lets the mask crumble as he suddenly grabs Sungyeol by the shirt and pulls him forward.  Their faces are barely an inch away and Myungsoo’s eyes have an intensity that makes Sungyeol stiffen like a rock.

“If the instructor lets you come, then fine.  But you _will_ not engage in pursuit, you _will_ stay away from the field, and you _will_ not put yourself at risk at any time,” Myungsoo grits out, biting down on words as his voice rises and falls in patterned intonation.

Sungyeol slightly nods, a small grin playing on his lips.  Myungsoo lets him go, and he turns around and bursts at the poor man behind the desk, telling him to go find that damn instructor _immediately_.

Sungyeol watches, his grin leveling up to a smile brighter than any sun as he comes to the conclusion that Myungsoo is kind.  A lot kinder than he had originally thought; and with that hope finds a comfortable little nest in Sungyeol’s heart. 

In between the hours of Myungsoo and Sungyeol finally taking off, the night sky starts falling, a chill meandering its way through the windows of the truck as Dongwoo drives along, following the car in his lead. 

The wind slipped inside through his cracked window, playing with his hair and making him shudder, a refreshing feeling like a splash of cold water bursting on his face.   Dongwoo couldn’t help but let his smile come back to him.  He had always loved driving; it made him feel free, gliding over all his worries and fears that sunk beneath him as his mind let loose.

He looks at Howon, still asleep in the passenger seat next to him, his head leaning on the window in an uncomfortable way.  Then he notices the car in front steering to the side, stopping at the shoulder.  Dongwoo follows suit, guessing that they’re about to switch drivers.  Howon tilts forward and then wakes up, rubbing his neck as he looks around him. 

Dongwoo meets his eyes and gives him a small smile, putting the truck in park.  Howon looks in front and sees Woohyun get out of the driver side of the other’s car and walk towards them.

“They’re switching?” Howon mumbles to Dongwoo as he rubs his neck, tilting his head slowly to the side to loosen the knot.

“Yeah I think so, Sungjong’s getting out too,” Dongwoo says.

“Let’s switch too then, I slept a lot already,” Howon says as he unfastens his seat belt and opens his door.

Howon briefly talks with Woohyun before they start off again, two lonely lit sparks in a stretch of charcoal black, drawing lines to nowhere.  

True to his habit, Dongwoo lets down the passenger window as he kicks off his shoes, removing his socks, and then laying his bare feet on the dashboard in front of him.  He reclines his seat back slightly, following the elbow-out-the-window ritual as he leisurely sits back.  He gives Howon a glance, knowing full well the other would be looking his way.  The pearl white of Howon’s smile gleams in the dark truck as he chuckles slightly, much like two old friends of the past cruising through time. 

It almost seemed like there was nothing waiting ahead, no soldiers heading out to war, only a lull in the quiet life of an outsider. 

A sigh slips out of Dongwoo’s lips, and Howon can’t help but notice.

“Are you worried?”  Howon asks, approaching tenderly.

“No,” Dongwoo replies without a pause, a strange tinge of confidence coloring his words.  “I’m not worried at all.”

Howon wasn’t exactly sure what it was, but that night he saw a maturity from Dongwoo that put him way ahead of his years, giving him a sense of calmness that he rarely harbored.  Even as they drove through the night, plowing on through the desert, Howon was floating in a pool of water, swimming in Dongwoo’s voice that was so strong, so firm, that it started laying a foundation on his essence.  

But while one man was finding peace, the other was burning with agony, thinking of what to do with his troops, trying to think of a way to make sure they could come back home without the eyes of the dead.  Sungjong found it in himself to take part of Woohyun’s burden, balancing it alongside him, trying to help him think of their options.  They had been debating the entire day, searching from all the angles, scheming together some method to get Sunggyu without having to lose Dongwoo.

“It’ll work out Woohyun.  We’ll manage somehow, we always do.”  Sungjong’s tired but steady voice soothes the other as Woohyun runs his fingers through his hair, his thoughts coated with worry.  Woohyun couldn’t stand sitting still, not when Sunggyu was still out there, not when Dongwoo should be running a thousand miles in the opposite direction, and definitely not when his own feelings were ripping him apart.

“I just hope we find Sunggyu before something happens,” Woohyun’s voice barely breaks through, only slightly above a whisper.

Sungjong knows all too well the elephant hiding behind Woohyun’s words, making him see more clearly the affection bleeding from them.

And maybe, just maybe, that makes Sungjong think he can do something for his friend, even if it meant he was throwing himself in the line of fire.


	16. A Kiss in the High

Myungsoo drives slowly through the streets of Lima, a city where the signs of poverty are ubiquitous.  A dog barks nearby, chained to the ground in front of what Myungsoo is pretty sure is a crack house.  He drives along, passing two men on the sidewalk lighting up and taking puffs.  Down the street women with provocative clothing linger around the corner, working under the night sky blanket that covered the city.  He crosses to the other side of the city, heated up by the hustling and swarms of bodies weaving through.  Myungsoo can just feel it in the air—dirty.  This entire city was dirty.  He keeps looking around, neon lights of strip clubs flashing obnoxiously in his eyes.  He decides that there are too many people here, and so heads back to the other side, where stealth was an option in the dead night.

He pulls up to that same corner, rolling down his window as a woman with too little clothing waves him down.  He stops, and she comes up to his window.

“Hey there handsome.   You lookin’ for some fun tonight?”

“How much?”

“Depends on what you want.  I can blow you for 20, sex for 50.”

“Mm. Okay, get in.”

“You’re not a cop are you?”

“No.”

“Okay.”

She walks around the front of his car and gets in the passenger seat next to him, chatting away as Myungsoo drives to a designated motel.

He parks in front of the cheap motel room, and they get out with the woman still running her mouth.  He humors her, passing a compliment here and there, as he takes out the key and opens the door.  They walk inside, and she puts down her purse as she walks over to the bed.  He closes the door behind him, but he does not lock it.  She turns around and starts to unbutton her blouse as Myungsoo takes a 50 out to give her.  She walks up to him with only a bra, taking the money and shoving it into her pocket as she sing-songs a _thank you darlin’_ to him.

“I’m gonna shower quickly..make yourself comfortable,” Myungsoo says as he walks to the back of the room.

She’s smiling at him with her yellow teeth, and within seconds the door is barged open, bodies of authority placing the woman in handcuffs.

Myungsoo washes his hands more than he should.

He then follows the herd to the room next door, where three other women were already in custody and officers were set up across the table.  He hears one of them explain to the woman that _that man is an undercover cop_ and _we’re gonna charge you with soliciting prostitution._   He feels a headache coming his way, a nauseating feeling making him want to hurl. 

Dirty.  All of it. Him, them, and everyone else.

He spots Sungyeol watching the surveillance cameras from his car and from the motel room, eager to learn more about how these operations worked. 

Myungsoo would’ve loved to just yank him away from all of it, cleanse him and baptize his thoughts from what he’s seeing.  Instead, he decides it’s about time he starts getting some answers from the handful he’s caught.  He pulls out his phone and types a quick text before stowing it away in his pocket, bracing himself for some ridiculous coercing.

.

.

.

Howon hears his phone go off, an alert of an incoming message.  Dongwoo glances over and down, his eyes catching the brightness of the lit up screen.  Howon picks up the phone from the cup holder in the middle and reads the message, his other hand lying limply on the steering wheel.

“What is it?” Dongwoo asks.

“Myungsoo.  He’s already working with a team trying to find some leads,” Howon says.

“Oh.  Okay.” Dongwoo says nonchalantly as he goes back to sipping on the bitter coffee they had gotten from a pit stop earlier.

Howon puts the phone back down, his eyes glazed slightly as he becomes lost in thought.

“Dongwoo, can you do me a favor?” 

Dongwoo sits up, placing his coffee in the other cup holder.  “Yeah sure.”

“There’s this bag Sungjong gave me, it’s somewhere underneath your feet.  It has your phone records,” Howon says as Dongwoo bends down and picks up the bag, removing a file with a stack of papers inside.  He throws the bag back down to his feet, and then takes the stack out and lays it in his lap.

“Oh,” Dongwoo lets out, scanning the lines.  “These are the numbers incoming and outgoing from my phone?”  His tone rises slightly at the end, but it’s not quite a question yet.

“Yeah, and it should have the times, dates, and other details too.”

Dongwoo doesn’t reply, but his brows are already furrowed in concentration.

“…I don’t recognize any of these.  Just the first two.  This one is my sister’s,” he taps the paper, “and this one is my mom’s.  There’s calls made two days after I lost my phone.  I didn’t make those.”

Howon grabs his phone again, unlocking the screen and pulling up the keypad. 

“What’s the first number?”

“It’s 5-8-2…,” Dongwoo starts giving him the number as Howon types it in, placing the call.

It rings. 

Dongwoo is staring at Howon now, with eyes wide awake but it’s not from the coffee.

“Where’s your location exactly?”

Dongwoo looks at him puzzled.

“Okay.  How much for a night?”  Howon says as he quickly opens the armrest, digging for a pen, his knee now steering the wheel.

Dongwoo leans over, his hand taking the wheel while Howon grabs the first paper from Dongwoo’s lap and jots down something at the edge.

“Okay.  Okay thank you sir.  Goodnight,” Howon says before hanging up, taking back the wheel.

“What was that?”

“A hotel in Tripoli.  This was an outgoing number right?”  Howon says as he looks at the paper again.

“Yeah, I think so,” Dongwoo takes back the paper, double-checking.

“Give me the next number.”

“You’re gonna do this for all of them?”

“We still have another day of driving ahead, why not,” Howon shrugs his shoulder.

“Okay.  I’ll help you,” Dongwoo says enthusiastically, looking for the next number.

Twenty-six phone calls later Howon figures out exactly what happened to Dongwoo’s phone.  Dongwoo wants him to explain.  Drawing on his experience, Howon tells him—he tells him how human trafficking works, how sometimes the set ups are in cheap motels, much like prostitution.  He tells him how predators travel and hide, and use phones they can dispose of as soon as they sense that law enforcement officials are closing in on them.

“He took my phone then..he’s the same person..he’s in Lima too?”

“The last four calls where to motels in Lima.  I don’t think someone in Tripoli would be asking for a room in Lima,” Howon’s face hardens, his foot pressing slightly harder on the pedal now. 

Dongwoo lays back again, his lips sealed shut. 

Howon lets his foot press harder, passing the car in front as he takes lead now, his speed surpassing the legal limit in a number worth deserving a ticket.

He doesn’t really care though. 

“I’m going to call Woohyun to hurry up a bit.  Maybe we can make it there by tomorrow evening,” Howon says, more to himself than to Dongwoo.

To no surprise, Woohyun didn’t really give a damn either.

“Press on it Sungjong,” Woohyun tells the younger as he rubs his temples repeatedly.

Woohyun’s phone goes off again, but this time it’s a call from Myungsoo.  Woohyun picks up quickly, his gut feeling telling him this is something good.

“Yeah?”  Woohyun answers with a weary voice.

“I got a lead. We have a name to work on.  The guy’s their recruiter apparently,” Myungsoo’s voice comes from the other line.

“Good.  Find him and hunt him down.  Don’t let him know we’re onto him.  Look into every single person he meets with, look at his record and see if he has prior convictions, dig up everything you can.”

“Okay.  I’ll set up units for surveillance.”

“We’ll try to be there by tomorrow evening.  Soon.”

“Just call me when you’re here then.”

“And Myungsoo—”

“Yes?”

“I have an old of mine that works in Lima, maybe you can ask him for some human resources and assistance.  Go talk to him, his name is Kang Hyunwoo.  Just tell him I sent you and he’ll help you out.  He knows the city a lot better than we do anyways, he’ll know the hot spots.”

“He works in the main department?”

“Yeah, he heads the Violent Offender’s Task Force.”

“Okay, I’ll keep you posted.”

The call ends and Woohyun feels the blood pulsing through his veins.  His gut feeling was telling him that he’s so close, so close that finding Sunggyu was on the tip of his fingertips, ghosting around the edges and just in sight.

Miles away, in a miserable motel room, Sunggyu lies on a bed, his head high in the clouds.  He sees a blurred image of a monster running in the room around him, encircling his bed like some ritual.  Sunggyu’s eyes try to follow it, but all he sees is that abnormally large mouth with protruding decayed teeth, spouting something at him.  His head feels light and his vision is like murky water with swirls of dark blotching in his eyes.  He looks again, and he can see that bloodcurdling mouth coming closer to him, opening wider and wider.  He’s never seen anything more horrid than that enormous mouth, approaching him like a murderer with a knife to the eye, bending down over him, and he’s _completely_ petrified for some odd reason. 

The next thing he knows that mouth is biting down on him, huge and wet, releasing a snake to curl its way down as it invades, leaving him with a detestable taste of something like rusted iron on his tongue…


	17. Danger, Danger

They’re setting up in a parking lot, putting on their gear and checking their guns.  Howon throws the bulletproof vest over his head, fastening it at the side.  Woohyun is sitting in the back of a Bearcat, and Myungsoo is loading his gun. 

It was D-day.  Woohyun was checking his phone every five minutes, waiting for the call from hell to come.  On the other side of the lot, Sungyeol was standing next to Sungjong as they talked in whispers, both of them out of place amidst the sea of officers.

Howon places his gun in a holster on his thigh, pulling a long, loose, sleeveless hoodie over his head to hide the vest and gun.  He turns to Dongwoo next to him, wearing a wire under his clothes.  He helps him tape the wire on the back of his neck, tucking it neatly in his collar.  Myungsoo was now ready, wearing a black tracksuit with a matching black duffel bag resting at his feet.  To most people, he would look like he had just walked out of a gym, but Howon knew that the M&P15 in that bag was far from what a normal person would carry.  Woohyun had the intention that Myungsoo and Howon would dress as civilians, hoping to blend in so they can stay close to Dongwoo.  Woohyun himself was still in uniform, because Choi would know his face anyways.

Woohyun checked his radio, making sure he had access to all foot personnel.  If only they had more time to prepare, more time to find that damn recruiter.  He still had his good friend Hyunwoo searching for that man, waiting for any new information they could get.  He’s lost in thought when a person taps his shoulder, and he turns to see Sungjong there.

“What?”

“What am I supposed to do exactly?”

“Nothing.  Just wait.  Keep Sungyeol company.  Stay out of the way.”

Sungjong pauses for a moment.

“What are you thinking Sungjong?”  Woohyun comes off a little bit too jittery.

“I don’t want to sit here and do nothing.  I’m gonna go back to the office and get some of my paperwork done.  I’m already behind.”

Woohyun contemplates this, but then agrees it’s probably better.  He’s already made Sungjong do so much for him.

“Okay.  I’ll call you when all this is over.”

Sungjong nods, giving Woohyun a small pat before he takes the long walk back to where Sungyeol is standing.  An officer is next to him, showing Sungyeol a 9-mil pistol that he keeps as extra in his car, ranting off some jargon to a listening ear. 

Sungjong walks up to them, smiling to the officer.

“I think Myungsoo over there needs some help officer.”

“Oh, right, I think we’ll get sent off soon.  See you guys later,” he says as he walks off misguided, ignorant to that cunning young smile.

“ _Are you sure about this Sungjong??_ ” Sungyeol hisses to him, his eyes darting around.

“Just give me the gun already before they see me.”

Sungyeol lets out a sound like a strangled animal, but gives him the gun anyways.  “Call me if you find him.”

“Stay close to Woohyun, you’ll have to let him now.”

“But why are you so keen on going after the recruiter yourself?  Isn’t there already people looking for that guy?”

“I’m gonna do it my own way, and it’s not necessarily legal.  But I have a hunch that if I find that recruiter I’m gonna find Sunggyu, and we’ll be done with all this.”

Sungyeol stays silent, observing, analyzing, understanding exactly where Sungjong was coming from.  “Okay.  Good luck.  Don’t get hurt.”

“Don’t worry.  I’ll be seeing you later,” Sungjong says before he runs off, gun hidden under his shirt as he sped to his car and took off.

While on the other side of the lot, Woohyun was really feeling the pressure.  He kneaded his hands together, rubbing them and molding them, gripping one on the other to stop the damn shaking.  There’s another tap on his shoulder, and he turns to an officer who informs him that all units are ready, on standby and waiting for his command.

He takes out his phone again, waiting.  And waiting.  Each passing second like another ton weighing on his mind, burdening him even more.  He looks at the people around him. Myungsoo is oddly calm.  Howon is raging in his skin.  Dongwoo.  _Dongwoo._   _Why do you look like you’ve lost your soul already?_

Woohyun watches as Dongwoo grabs onto Howon’s shirt, pulling him to the side.

“I need to tell you something,” Dongwoo says, not letting go of the shirt.

“Look Dongwoo you don’t have to do this—”

“No, shut up—” Dongwoo shakes his head slightly “I told you already that I will.  I can’t stand it that someone else is hurting because of me.  I have to help.  But that’s not what I wanted to say.”

“What--What then?”

“I—You, you’ve been really kind to me—”

“—don’t say it like that.  Don’t say that, you’re just a little bit nervous, but it’s all under control, it’ll be fine—”

“—I just need to tell you something,” Dongwoo cuts him off, but Howon already knows.  He knows all too well.

Dongwoo is looking at him right there, trying to gather up all the broken words, trying to make sure Howon can understand, but before he even musters the courage to speak, a ringing goes off. 

All eyes turn to Woohyun’s phone, a silence falling over the crowd.

Woohyun takes a sharp breath and answers, Myungsoo a foot next to him.

“Hello?”

“I have Sunggyu with me here.  Give Dongwoo the phone and tell him to take the 4:20 train to Koura.  When I see Dongwoo I will tell you our location.” 

“Choi that’s bullshit.  How do I know Sunggyu’s with you?  Hell, how do I know he’s even still alive?”  Woohyun physically winced when he said that.  He had to be aggressive though.  He couldn’t trust Choi.  He couldn’t show him his weakness.

“Oh?  _Is that so?_ ”

And the line goes dead.  Woohyun panics.  Howon’s looking at him.  Myungsoo is still holding his breath. 

Then Dongwoo breaks into his nightmare, his voice firm.  “I’ll go.  Get me to the station, I’ll go.  We have to get back Sunggyu, before he does anything to him.  I’ll go.”  He sounds so sure, so definite, but the three could see how his hands were trembling, small tremors echoing from the heart.

“Let’s—we have 20 minutes, let’s just—” and another ring goes off, a short notification of a message this time.

Woohyun quickly opens it to see.  A picture.  Of Sunggyu, unconscious with blood down his forehead, in the back of a car.  Choi’s hand is seen right above his head, holding a gun only inches away. 

Howon curses.  Woohyun feels like he’s been hit with a ton of bricks.  Then Dongwoo insists again, _take me to the station already, we’re wasting time._

Then Choi is calling again, like a relentless devil rubbing salt in the wound, and Woohyun doesn’t know anymore, he’s breaking under pressure.  He’s getting to the end of the rope and he doesn’t know what he should do, the needle in the meter surpassing the breaking point, spinning as it malfunctions.  He answers and all he hears is brief and infuriated, straight to the point: _If Dongwoo is not on that train I’m putting a bullet in Sunggyu’s head.  He better come alone._

The officer behind him tells him they couldn’t track the call, and Woohyun could almost watch his body from above, watching time tick away in slow motion until his senses catch up to him, a pain throbbing in his toes.

Myungsoo’s foot had stomped on his, intentionally.

“Okay.  Okay.  You two will go with him.  Keep your distance.  We know where they’re heading, we’ll get people over there.  We have an MD500 ready, Choi doesn’t.  We’ll send snipers; put them on the roofs, away from sight.  We’ll split into two teams, one will follow Dongwoo and the other will be at the station to apprehend Choi—” and just like that, Woohyun started his tactics, relaying his orders to the men.  Maybe they could pull this off.  Maybe they could.

.

.

.

By the time Sunggyu wakes up again, it’s already late afternoon, but he wouldn’t have known if it wasn’t for the clock on the stand next to his bed.  He cranes his neck upwards, looking around the motel room.  His head is a lot clearer now, the effects of the drug wearing off from last night.  He moves, registering that only one of his arms if cuffed to the bed, the other free and laying next to his side.  He sits up as he looks at the inside of his forearm, the puncture of the needle barely visible on his skin.

The man is sitting on a chair across his bed, talking on his phone.  Choi was gone.  From what he heard before he went under, this man was supposedly a recruiter, but Sunggyu didn’t want to believe that.  He didn’t want to think of it.  He couldn’t even fathom the thought of letting them use him, taking his body _and_ his mind.

_What the hell do I do…_

_._

_._

_._

“Yeah, he said he wanted to work, get into the business with us.  He’ll make the mark, he’s quite the looker.”

Sungjong stays still, intently listening to the woman on the phone in front of him.

“Okay.  You wanna see him?  Yeah, okay, I’ll tell him.”

She hangs up and looks at Sungjong.  “He said he’ll have to see for himself first.  He’s got some business at a motel nearby, so he said we should go see him there.  I’ll just drop you at his room and go, I have my own business to take care of you know.”

“Yes, of course. I won’t mind sharing my first paycheck with you in return.”

She laughs, throwing her head up in the air.  “You sure know how to talk.”

And Sungjong just smiles.

Minutes later he’s in front of the motel room, knocking on the door, the gun feeling cold against his skin underneath his shirt. 

 _Please be here,  please_.

The door opens, a man with a horrid face meeting him.  But Sungjong smiles.

“You’re the recruiter?”  he asks in a soft voice, like a cat purring to its prey.

“Hmm, you’re not bad looking.  Get in, I have another one to take care of too.”

“Oh?”  Sungjong says as he walks into the miserable room, the man closing and locking the door behind him.

Then he sees him, cuffed to the bed board.  Sunggyu’s eyes widen, and Sungjong quickly presses a finger to his lips.

Thoughts were running through Sungjong's head at a hundred miles an hour. 

_I found Sunggyu.  Oh god I was right._

The man is behind him, placing a hand on his lower back, sliding it down as he tells Sungjong to sit on the other bed.

Sungjong lets him see another smile, his thoughts racing around, jumping hurdles and spinning in circles. 

He glances at Sunggyu, and their eyes meet, locking together.  He could perfectly see what the other is telling him.

_How the hell are we getting out of this?_


	18. Hostage

Sunggyu sits himself properly on his bed, grabbing the attention of the man in the room with them.

“I need to use the bathroom,” he says casually, as if there was nothing absurd in his demand.

Sungjong looks over at the recruiter, hoping for a miracle that he would buy it.

“Suck it up,” the man spits, returning his attention to Sungjong who shifts under his weight.

“Can’t you just take him now and lock him in there?  Shut him up?”  Sungjong says as he lays on the other side of Sunggyu’s bed, folding one leg on top of the other, and eyeing the man with a smirk.

The man grins, licking his lips.  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt then,” he says smugly as he approaches Sunggyu, taking the cuff off and twisting Sunggyu’s arm behind his back as he held him.

The chief gives Sungjong a look as the man leads him to the back, his grip still tight on the arms.

Sungjong is still keenly watching, but as soon as they pass the bed chaos breaks out in the small motel room, as if a switch had turned on hurling the scene upside down.

Sunggyu had jabbed his elbow into the man’s abdomen, just as Sungjong pranced onto him, tackling him into the dresser as objects flew off and around, glass shattering across.  The man is quick to fight back, kicking Sungjong off and swinging back at Sunggyu, fist landing in the lower jaw.  Sungjong hurries to get back on his feet, panicking as his eyes catch sight of the gun that flew off him and scurried across the floor.  He hurls forward to catch it, the man also plunging in to try and snatch it before Sungjong. 

Before he could even bend down, Sunggyu had a chokehold on him from the back, twisting his body and slamming the man’s back down onto his knee, executing a perfect inverted headlock backbreaker.  The man lets out a wretched scream, howling in pain as he writhes around.  Sungjong quickly grabs his gun, standing in place as he yells out at the man, telling him to stop moving. 

He tries to get an aim but the man has latched onto Sunggyu again, clawing at his neck.  Sungjong’s frozen in his spot as he watches Sunggyu thrash with the man, knocking things over around the cramped room, their bodies slamming as they collided into the wall. 

With a grunt Sunggyu pushes the man off him, making a perfect opportunity for Sungjong.  Sungjong doesn’t hesitate.  He takes his aim, a single shot going off in the small space. 

The man stills, tilting forward and grabbing Sunggyu’s legs as he goes down, collapsing onto the floor. Sunggyu heaves, catching his breath as he looks back at Sungjong.

Sungjong’s hands are still outstretched, and Sunggyu rushes over, resting his hand on top of Sungjong’s, taking the gun away from him.

He breathes.  They exchange looks again, and then both look behind them at the still body.  “He attacked us.  You shot back in self defense.  Understood?”

Sungjong nods his head, thinking of what they should do next, if anyone heard the shot, if more people are coming to the room, if they should tell Woohyun now. 

His thoughts cut short when Sunggyu holds him, hugging him tightly as he repeats under his breath, _thank you, thank you, thank you._

.

.

.

Myungsoo walks into the train, already ignoring Dongwoo.  Dongwoo stuffs the phone in his pocket, standing at the side of the door, blending in perfectly with the other passengers.  Myungsoo takes the seat across him, a bit farther to the left side of the train.  He takes a look around the compartment, spotting Howon on the opposite side, his head down with a cap covering his face.  Within minutes the doors on both ends close, and the trains sways before it speeds off, the rattling muffling people’s conversations.  Myungsoo turns his gaze back to Dongwoo, watching the people around him.  Two women are chatting to his left, their bright colored dresses swaying along with the train.  They huddle closer and then one throws her head back as she laughs at something the other had said.  Myungsoo looks to Dongwoo’s right; a man, sporting a black dress shirt with a loose tie, sunglasses and a newsboy cap holds his bundled jacket in his arms. There were so many people around; they were definitely at a disadvantage. 

He turns his head slightly, a low growl escaping his lips into the piece under his shirt.  “Motherfucker sure picked the busiest time for this.”

Howon looks up and their eyes meet briefly.  They couldn’t risk a shoot-out with this crowd.  They could easily lose track of Dongwoo with so many people moving around.  They have to grab Choi before he can take hold of Dongwoo, that was their one and _only_ chance if they wanted to avoid any exchange of fire in the station.

A couple of minutes later they get to the first stop, still two stops away from Koura, and the doors open again.  People start walking out, and just as he fears, Myungsoo loses sight of Dongwoo in between all the bustling.

He stands up, his eyes darting and catching a glimpse of Dongwoo two feet from the door, moving along with the other passengers.

_What?_

Howon on the other side is looking back and forth, glancing at Myungsoo and at Dongwoo, confusion on his face mirroring the thoughts in Myungsoo’s head. 

_Where the hell--?_

Dongwoo turns his head slightly, his eyes giving a final pleading look as he hesitantly steps off the train, being pushed with the crowd. 

Howon is already jumping out of his seat, rushing for the door, and Myungsoo doesn’t even take a second to think before he runs out after him.

They’re moving quickly, trying to keep up behind Dongwoo as they weave through the crowd opposing them.

“Woohyun, we have a problem.  Dongwoo got off at the first stop, we’re following him,” Howon grits, his eyes trying to keep track of the black head in the far front.

He hears a faint buzzing in his ear “What, why? Did Choi call him??”

“No, I was watching, he never used the phone.”  Myungsoo’s voice comes in.

“Keep track of him, but don’t engage yet.  See where he’s heading.  Hold on, I’m just getting an update now.”

Howon’s heart is pounding in his ears.  Dongwoo is still moving quickly, carrying on with the crowd.

_What the hell are you doing Dongwoo??_

Too many people, too many bodies moving around.  A man runs into him, bouncing back off his shoulder as he yells at Howon to watch where he’s going.  It only took one second of his attention. 

 _Shit_. 

He lost track of Dongwoo.

“Myungsoo,” it comes out a lot more desperate than usual.

“He’s heading towards that Vista hotel, south end of the station, gate B, I still have visual.”

Howon moves.

The piece buzzes in his ear again, his mind processing the words way too quickly for his body.  Woohyun’s voice is rushed, but the words are clear.  “ _It’s a set up-- I just got word from Sunggyu himself, Choi went to get Dongwoo, he must be there, get Dongwoo out, get him out now—”_

_“--Choi is here??”_

“--he told Sunggyu he’s going to take him off the train, either way get Dongwoo out now--”

“-- _shit_ , I bet that’s him, he’s right behind Dongwoo, Howon get your ass over here now, he’s sticking Dongwoo, _get over here_ ,” Myungsoo cuts in, panting.

Of course Choi would lie about the stop.  He knows they’d be ready for him there.  But to grab Dongwoo off the train right under their nose, this bastard sure knew how to plot.

Howon’s feet are barely touching the ground as he sprints, shoving people left and right.

Myungsoo is taking the rifle out of the bag as he tries to keep up with Dongwoo, and maintain his distance. The two men head into the garage, turning a sharp left and disappearing into the lot behind a wall.

Myungsoo scuttles, sneaking up from behind the wall as he looks at the two barely ten feet from him. 

The man slams Dongwoo’s back onto the side of a black car, gripping him as he shoves the gun into his face from the bundled jacket he was holding.  Choi throws the sunglasses off, digging his hand into Dongwoo’s pocket as he takes the phone out and throws it to the ground, smashing it on the concrete.

There was no time. 

Myungsoo holds the rifle up, pointing it out as he approaches them, his voice ringing loud in the garage.  “ _Put the gun down_ \-- ** _Put the gun down now_** ”

They’re screaming across at each other, Choi getting on edge as Myungsoo inches forward. 

“I’ll blow his head off, _I swear I’ll blow his head off_ —”

He tries to get closer, but Choi grabs Dongwoo, standing behind him as a shield, howling at Myungsoo now to stay back.

Myungsoo holds his ground, trying to go with reason.  He keeps himself alert, rifle out, aim steady, but they’re too close, too damn close together for a shot.

He evens his voice; firm, low and threatening like it should be.  “You’re not going anywhere Choi, we already got Sunggyu, there’s nowhere for you to run now.  Do yourself a favor and stop piling charges for yourself.  Let him go.”

“No, no, _hell no,_ ” Choi hisses back, spiteful and angry.

Footsteps are heard, and Howon emerges from the around the corner, out of breath.  As soon as he sees the scene in front of him his veins are set on fire, his rational flying out the window.

“I’m going to _fucking kill you,_ ” a beast from within him raging on the loose.


	19. Our Line Never Ends

Howon’s gun is out, hot blood rushing through his system. Two steps forward and Choi quickly turns the gun to Howon, holding him in his spot, one foot wanting to leap and the other holding him back. 

“I don’t want to kill him, _don’t make me kill him_ ,” Choi starts threatening again, shaking his gun in front of Howon, then turning it back to Dongwoo, and then back to Howon again, panic written all over his face.

Myungsoo’s voice comes low and demanding, asking Choi one last time to turn himself him already. 

Contrary to their thoughts, the man seems to hesitate, as if really considering the thought of surrendering. A static of tension tingles in the air before a pause of absolute silence. In the distance, the sound of sirens echoes through the atmosphere, like a bell toll to some grand finale.  Choi stills himself, his aim turning crooked as the guns hangs limp in his hand. 

“Okay.  Okay.” a soft voice comes out of him, horribly unmatched.

Dongwoo lets out a heaving breath, the arms wrapped around his neck loosening, easing his airflow.

“Now put the gun down…slowly” Myungsoo urges him, praying that he would listen.

“I only wanted my daughter back,” he’s shaking his head, biting his lips as the tears started to flow down his face.

“We’ll help.  But not like this Choi.  You can’t hurt others to get what you want,” but Myungsoo says it gently, his voice not as scolding as his words.

Choi doesn’t let go of the gun, but instead slowly peels his arm off Dongwoo’s neck.  Dongwoo takes the chance and shoves Choi down, sprinting off in Howon’s direction as fast as he could.  Howon veers him behind his back, and Myungsoo is already giving Woohyun a code. 

“Please find her.”

He’s still holding the gun.

“Choi put the damn gun down _please,_ ” Myungsoo pleads, hating to kill a man who’s not even living.

Choi stops for a moment, his eyes harboring a crazed look of a broken man, a drifting soul who’s already waist-deep into despair. 

Howon notices that look.  “Don’t, Choi don’t—” he’s moving his other foot, but Choi is faster.

The gun goes off, right in the left side of his head, his body flopping down to the pavement as blood sprayed the cars and wall.

Dongwoo sinks his nails into Howon’s skin, startled by the loud bang.  His eyes glue themselves to the crimson color, and he suppresses the urge to hurl as he spots brain matter scattered in all directions. 

“He’s killed himself,” Myungsoo murmurs, saying the obvious and yet not quite obvious meaning.  Myungsoo lowers his rifle, standing fully upright now but with slouching shoulders.  He starts talking to Woohyun again, but his voice fades off in the background as Dongwoo sinks into a daze.

It takes Dongwoo a second to realize that it’s over; that this is the end.  He doesn’t even notice the droplets falling off his cheeks until Howon smudges them with his palm.  A sob escapes his throat, and he buries himself in Howon’s chest while the other soothes him, running his hand through his hair gently.

“Shhhh, it’s over now.  It’s over.”

\----

_Later that night at Tripoli’s Medical Center…_

Woohyun finds the room he’s looking for and waits outside the door.  A couple of minutes later a nurse comes out, shutting the door behind gently her.  Woohyun stops her, showing her his badge quickly. 

“Can I talk to him?”

She nods her head, “he’ll be released once I’ve finished the paperwork, but other than that he’s fine, nothing that can’t be healed without some good rest.”

Woohyun thanks her, and then lingers by the door, a war raging in his head of how he’s going to do this.  He needs to tell him.  He can’t wait any longer.  It has to be done _now._

So he takes a deep breath and taps on the door lightly before walking in.  He sees Sunggyu on the bed, the color drained from his face but his smile rising when Woohyun walks towards him.  Woohyun smiles back and sits on the side of his bed.

“You would never believe what happened to me…” Sunggyu tells him, his voice heavy and weary.

“Well I came to hear all about it,” Woohyun says as he lets his finger trace down the bruises on Sunggyu’s face.  He wanted nothing more than to tend to the older man, but Sunggyu, his same old Sunggyu, was always too oblivious to even think anything of neither his touches nor his words.

“You know it was always the opposite—you scolding me when I got hurt and then sitting by my hospital bed—chewing on something most of the time too--”

“You didn’t bring me anything did you?”

“I ordered a pizza for you old man.”

“Bless your soul.  You got yourself out of a beating.”

Woohyun smiled, like a little child who knew a secret that no one else did.

“You’ll be staying in my hotel room when we get back to Tripoli.  I want to hear everything from you.”

“Why?  I have my own house”

“Which doesn’t have a lock on the back door”

“Or maybe a certain Nam Woohyun wants some attention,” Sunggyu snickers slightly, a light-hearted joke running between them from years ago.  Woohyun slightly pinches his leg, retaliating in his own way, and Sunggyu smacks him on the forehead to uphold his so-called seniority.  A comfortable pause of silence falls in between the two; Sunggyu shifting to sit up properly and Woohyun gazing at him.  Their bodies are so close; Woohyun’s hand is still resting on Sunggyu’s leg from where he pinched him—and yet, _why_ , Woohyun wonders, why does it feel like their hearts are oceans apart?

“You’re thinking too hard again,” Sunggyu says, gauging Woohyun’s expressions.

“Actually…I’ve been thinking a lot.  And I came here because I need to tell you something.” 

Woohyun takes another deep breath, holding his left hand again.  Why does that damn thing keep _shaking_.

“It’s something I should’ve said years ago, and I wish—I really wish you could just hear me out before you decide anything.”

“Decide anything..?” Sunggyu scrunches his face in confusion.

“Yeah.” Woohyun says, nodding his head slightly.  He turns his body completely and scoots closer, only inches away from Sunggyu now, piercing eyes staring right back at him.  It’s true that Sunggyu was tired.  It’s true that the purple decorating his face made Woohyun’s heart squeeze.  It’s true that Sunggyu’s worn out most of the time.  But Woohyun notices that gleam that Sunggyu rarely lets slip by.  Woohyun could swear that at times like these Sunggyu would be daring him—daring him to do something. 

Woohyun pulls back, too overwhelmed.  Of course Sunggyu would know how to mess with his mind without uttering a single syllable.  And Woohyun tries.  He really does.

With broken words he tries to say what he wants, but all his strength leaves him, and it ends up a mingled mesh of nonsense.

“What?”  Sunggyu’s eyes turn into little crescents, obviously amused as he chuckles slightly.  “You’re not making sense Woohyun, what’s ilougharou--” he says this as he sticks out his lips, his fingers galloping on the air as he mimics him.

Woohyun lets his body loosen and laughs out loud with him, shaking his head as his insides crumbled and burned, pulling him down and drowning him in his own sorrow. 

“Let me ask the nurse if you’re free to go yet,” Woohyun says as he pats Sunggyu’s arm gently, feeling the scorch on where their skin connected.

“Wait, let me get up too.  I’ll go with you.”

Woohyun forces himself to stay in his spot, planting the soles of his feet on the large tile when the rest of his body just wanted to dash out the door and plunge into a lake.  _A drowning man, that’s what you do to me, I’m waiting for my heart to stop but it won’t let me be_ ; he can’t remember the number of times he’s listened to that song in his car.  He plays the lyrics in his head, waiting for Sunggyu to gather his things before they head out, into the corridor and down the hall, the tune still bouncing off the walls in his mind.

And even though Woohyun finally got Sunggyu back, he still couldn’t sleep that night.

.

.

.

Dongwoo’s packing everything from his hotel room in Tripoli, rushing to get everything done before his sister came to pick him up.  He was trying really hard to focus, but he couldn’t stop thinking.  Thinking about them, this, what it could’ve been between the two of them.  But it’s time to go, and even though he wants to hold on and make-believe his own ending, he knew it’s too hard.  It’s too hard to love when he’s like this. 

So he stuffs the last two shirts into his bag and struggles with the zipper before it finally closes all the way round.  He gets to his feet, looking around the room one final time.  He spots another shirt on the kitchen counter, and walks over to grab it.  As soon as he picks it up he realizes it’s not his; it’s Howon’s.  It smells like him.

Maybe he could stay a little bit more, try a little bit harder, make it work.  Then his heart scolds him, telling him how unfair it would be—a downward fall for him and an uphill battle for Howon.  Trying to put together broken glass will only cut the skin even deeper. 

He puts the shirt back down, feeling the fabric and rubbing it through his fingers.  He hears his new phone go off—his sister is waiting for him downstairs. 

And he packs his heart along with the rest and steps out the door.

.

.

.

“So he told you to meet him at the park because a witness was too scared to step forward?”  Howon said as he held the fork over his plate.

“He knew you’d go if it had to do with the case,” Myungsoo said in between a mouthful of hot scrambled eggs.

“Exactly.  And I fell for it.”  Sunggyu says with a sigh.

“Well at least everyone’s safe.”  Woohyun chirps from the side.  He was truly glad.  Glad they were back in Tripoli.  Relieved that the episode was over.

The four men huddled on the table as they ate their breakfast with rigor.  The drive back had worn them out, and despite last night’s sleep they still lacked energy. 

“What’s gonna happen with the people they found in that recruiter’s house?” Myungsoo looks to Sunggyu.

“Well the five males who ran the place will obviously be facing charges for human trafficking and a whole other list of felony charges—same for those two females who regulated the girls.  It’s sure to give a heavy blow to whatever group is orchestrating the whole thing.”

“Weren’t there seven guys?” Myungsoo asks again.

“Yeah, but two of them were victims” Woohyun says before swallowing the piece of toast in his mouth.  “The marks were on their backs.  They were completely brainwashed too—saying that they’re marked, they’re owned, there’s no way they won’t be found again—psychologically they’re quite..I don’t even know how to say it- _broken_?”

“Hyunwoo is taking care of all of them—we still have our own mess to deal with here.  But they’re prioritizing this, I talked with Hyungwoo and we sent a request to the marshalls.  There’s two ways this can end—either the remaining associates disperse and disappear, most likely out of the country, or stay here, and well, that’s only a matter of time before they get hunted down.” Sunggyu says, merciless in his tone.

“Plus I think one of the five we have in custody might actually be the head of the group,” Woohyun pipes up again, trailing after Sunggyu.

“What about Choi’s girl?  What’s going to happen to her?” Howon throws it to the conversation.

“They contacted the grandparents; she’ll be under their care.”

“There’s still so much that doesn’t make sense.  I mean, just _why_?”

“Can’t ask a dead man” Woohyun sighs heavily.

“Eighty-twenty,” Sunggyu lets out as he finishes his plate.  Myungsoo gives him a confused look as Howon squints his eyes.

“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”

Sunggyu looks up at Howon who’s looking for an answer.  Then he turns his head slightly to Woohyun—“You never taught them about the eighty-twenty rule?”

Woohyun smiles, almost wanting to laugh out loud, “no you teach much better than me why don’t you explain it while I—” he gets another smack on the forehead again.

“In more cases than you think, you only get 80% of the story.  They never give you the other twenty, usually because they don’t want to talk or well, they’re dead.  It’s a general rule, we learned that the first week Woohyun!”

“I think I want to transfer to Tripoli, I’ll have a much better superintendent,” Myungsoo takes a jab at Woohyun, poking fun at how their superior was being scolded underhandedly.

“I’m never approving that,” Woohyun tries to sound serious. 

“Actually Woohyun will be staying here,”  Sunggyu announces, making Woohyun snap his neck up to see if he’s being serious.

“What?  When did this happen?”  Woohyun truly was baffled.

“And Howon you can probably fill up his position in Sydon,” Sunggyu goes on disregarding Woohyun’s inquiry.

“I’m getting promoted?”

“Wait—“

“Yup.  Congratulations.  Keep an eye on Myungsoo, he’s quite capable I can tell.”

“Why thank you chief.  I do love my job.”

“Sunggyu—”

Myungsoo stands up, finished with his meal.  “I’m going to go meet with a friend before our flight.”  He turns to Howon, “I’ll meet you at the airport at two.”

“Sure.  Don’t forget to take your stuff if you’re not heading back to the hotel.”

“Yeah.”  Myungsoo puts his hand out to Sunggyu—“pleasure meeting you.  Hope we’ll get to work together again sometime.”

Sunggyu takes his hand, “same here.  I’m sure we will since Woohyun will keep bugging you anyways.  Keep in touch.”

Woohyun sends Myungsoo off too by telling him to call once he gets back to Sydon.  He’s still not quite grasping what Sunggyu means by having him stay there.  _For a week? A month? Six months?_

Woohyun left for a reason, and if Sunggyu wants him to stay here for good…he’s not quite sure he can handle that.

“He’s spacing out again,” Howon’s hand wanders in front of his eyes.

“What?”

“Bye.”

“Oh.  Goodbye Howon.  Call me when you guys get back.”

“Yes sir,” Howon says as he gets up, pushing his chair in and taking off too, leaving Woohyun alone with Sunggyu.  Alone with his thoughts again. 

“Let’s go for a walk,” Sunggyu suddenly says as he pulls Woohyun up by the arm, ushering him outside.

They’re not particularly walking anywhere, but Sunggyu’s two steps ahead of Woohyun who’s dragging behind, following his back.  After they get behind the hotel, Sunggyu steps off the sidewalk and down to a little patch of greenery.  It’s almost criminal to step on such pretty flowers and perfectly mowed grass, but once they crossed over the back they reached the edge of the woods.  It’s still morning, the sun not too high and a breeze whisking by their skin, cooling and refreshing.

Sunggyu stops.  He turns around and studies Woohyun like he’s researching a new species.  “You’re such an idiot.”

Woohyun furrows his brows.  “What did I do?”

“Someone told me.  I know already.”

Woohyun didn’t understand.  “Told you what, what do you—oh.”

Sunggyu lets out a small smile.  “I never would’ve imagined it.” He shrugs his shoulders slightly, the center of his lips clumped together to rise in frown before he dissolves it back into his usual small smile.  “But I decided it’s worth a try.”

.

.

.

Myungsoo lets his fingers fit in perfectly with the hand he’s holding.  They’re lying in the bed, sheets tossed everywhere from the fret of events beforehand.  He takes his other hand and runs it through Sungyeol’s tussled hair, trying to pat it down and make it even again. 

“It won’t help, I need to shower anyways”

Myungsoo smiles, genuinely and blissfully.  “There’s still another hour before my flight.”

“Are you suggesting something?”

“I don’t know, what do you think I’m suggesting?”

“Myungsoo…how are we supposed to deal with this until I relocate to Sydon?”

“You said it takes two months”

“I know, but…I don’t know,” Sungyeol lifts himself upright to his knees, his bare chest still glistening from sweat.  He runs his hand through his hair, his fingers remaining laced with Myungsoo’s.

Myungsoo sits up too, tugging at Sungyeol’s hand.  He sits cross-legged on the bed, and Sungyeol joins him, face-to-face, to share another slow kiss, lazy and endearing.  They’re lips are still tapping each other, meeting and breaking, while words are exchanged in between breathes, quick, husky and low.

It takes another ten minutes for one to finally push the other over, bickering their way to the shower to rush for one last time before the departure…

.

.

.

As Howon walks out to the front lobby, he spots Dongwoo placing his bags into the trunk of a car.  A woman is helping him, before she closes the trunk and walks back to the driver’s seat while Dongwoo gets in the passenger seat.  Howon rushes outside, calling Dongwoo’s name.

“Hey,” Dongwoo says as he gets out, shutting the car door behind it and then leaning on it.

“You’re leaving now?”

“Yeah.  My sister said she’d take me to my mom’s place.  I’ll be staying there a while”

“Oh.  Well.  I wanted to tell you that if you need a job, there’s this administrative position available back at my headquarters.  In Sydon. I’d recommend you to them if you want…and help you out with things, you know.  In case you want to move somewhere new.”

Dongwoo blinks, a bit too hard, almost wincing, as his lips stretch into a thin line of agony. 

And Howon couldn’t swallow it. 

“I don’t know why you won’t..why you can’t…” Howon’s fumbling with his words, trying to hold himself together, but his eyes are starting to sting, watering as he holds the dam higher.  “But I do care about you.  I thought you felt the same way about me too.”

Dongwoo turns his head, “Howon, stop--”

“That night you _kissed_ me”

“Stop, look-I’m sorry”

“That didn’t mean anything to you?  it sure as hell meant a lot to me”

“Yes it did.  It did.  And it made me realize that I _can’t_..”

Dongwoo’s giving him that face again.  Howon knew he was making him upset.  But he couldn’t help it.  He wanted him, more than anything he’s ever wanted before in his life.  He wanted to steal that smile, to share a life with him and fill the gaping hole in his chest.  Maybe he’s jumping the gun, jumping a bit too far, but he’s never fallen this hard before.  And damn did it hurt.

Howon shakes his head, and he eyes meet with the woman inside the car.  Dongwoo’s sister is staring at him, almost as if she wanted to apologize. 

“Thank you for all you’ve done for me..I’m not good at doing this, but-it’s just--”

 “--I’ll be here until one-thirty.  Give me a chance at least. You set the rules.  You hold the pace.  Whatever you want Dongwoo.  Think about it one more time, _please_. And if you change your mind I’ll be waiting here.”

Howon reaches out, gently placing his lips on Dongwoo’s cheek, stamping it and breathing in his scent in what could be the final time he’d see him.  Before he pulls back, he lets Dongwoo hear his confession, and then he’s off, back turned and away with the wind.  He doesn’t look back until he’s in his hotel room, shutting the door behind him with a slam, hiding to lick his wounds.

Howon strifes with time, waiting for the dreadful deadline as time crept by.  He tried to busy himself with his packing, but he only had one bag and not too many items.  Every now and then he would ghost his fingers over his lips, losing himself in the memory, reconstructing the image in his head over and over again.  He knew he should let it go, let everything dissipate into the nothingness.  But he couldn’t stop thinking about it, as noxious as it was; it was becoming a hole in his head less that was an inch wide but a meter deep.

His phone goes off, an incoming text message.  It makes Howon jump in his skin, the offensive sound intruding on his thoughts.

A message from the medical examiner.

_I tested all the people that were apprehended in Lima.  None of the DNA matches with Dongwoo’s attacker.  I’ll make sure the case stays open…but maybe you should help him move on._

Howon wanted to bash his head against the wall. 

He broke his promise. 

.

.

.

“What should I do next then, sir?”  the young woman piped up, shoving the other lab assistant out of the way. 

“I was asking that _first_ ,” the man pushed her back, another quarrel blossoming and reinforcing Sungjong’s headache.  He puts the phone down, and then rubs his forehead, trying to restrain himself from snapping at the two new assistants.  His colleague smiles in the next office, and Sungjong swears he’s going to go punch him.  They voted on giving him the two new interns while he was away in Lima, and now he’s stuck with two shameless dimwits who conveyed their love to him in more than what was deemed appropriate.  What’s worse is they were siblings.  The last thing in the world Sungjong needed was a dramatic love triangle.

Sungjong changed his thoughts, wondering what Sunggyu had done by now.  Maybe he shouldn’t have said anything.  But if it worked out, he’ll have Woohyun on a leash for the remainder of his life.  He soaked himself in that thought for a while.

A crash is heard, and Lee Sungjong snaps so quickly that explodes at the two assistants like an atomic bomb extending off into space.

.

.

.

Howon takes his time putting his bag in the truck.  He mechanically stands there for about two minutes before shutting the side door.

One twenty-five.

He takes a stroll around the truck, circle after circle after circle.  Then he stops and looks at his watch again.

One twenty-eight.

He sits on the back, dangling his legs and swaying them like a child on a swing.  He kept his head to the ground, his hands rubbing together.

One thirty-one.

People run late sometimes.  There could be a traffic jam.  An accident.  The car breaking down. 

One thirty-two.

Maybe he should go get a drink before he goes.  Maybe he forgot something in the room.  Maybe he’s losing his mind.  He should go check again that room again though. It’ll take ten minutes just getting up there.  He hops off the back, trudging along as he makes his way back into the hotel.  Then he remembers he’s already turned his keys in and curses at himself. 

He heads over to the refreshments counter, picking up a can of soda.  He wanders around, walking down the endless row of doors, then coming back, until he looks at his watch again.

One forty-seven.

He needs to drive like a maniac to get to the airport in time.  He rushes to the truck again, hoping in his heart that he’ll find that person waiting for him outside.  He’s greeted with an empty space and an empty heart.  He slides in the truck, turning the ignition on, realizing that everything’s gone. 

He puts it in reverse, backing out of the lot when he hears a pounding on the metal of his truck.  He steps on the brakes; he probably almost ran someone over from not paying attention.  But then there’s a tap on the passenger window, and he’s standing there, out of breath and dazzlingly gorgeous.  He gives Howon a toothy grin, before opening the door and getting in.

“Sorry I’m late.  I went to tell my mom goodbye.”

Howon gives him that flabbergasted look.

 “You sure you want to do this?”  Howon blurts out before he even knows what he’s saying.  _Lee Howon you fucking idiot shut the hell up before he changes his mind._

“I-I think so.  Yeah.  Slowly.  Very slowly.  But I’m not going to guarantee you anything.”

“Why’d you—why’d you change your mind? Or wait, no, don’t answer that, I don’t want to know.  We have a flight to catch,” Howon’s already driving ahead, a thrill coursing threw his body as his heart leapt in his chest, swelling and bubbling, with an intangible feeling that he’s never quite harbored before.  _Relief?   Joy?   Care?_ The gears slide back into place, a band aid patched quickly on poor decisions and misunderstandings. 

“I’m taking the window seat by the way.  I’m not letting you off that easy.  But I still love you.”

Dongwoo’s put that grin back on his face, a red blush flushing up his cheeks as he laughs it off in the truck, the melody ringing through the atmosphere.  Howon takes in Dongwoo’s laughter like an addict, shooting it up his veins.  He definitely needs this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just copied all this off my other profile, it's not even proofread well. If y'all notice any mistakes please let me know! I'm going to try to archive the sequel here later too


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